Foreign criminals currently in English and Welsh prisons will finally be deported with the deployment of a new immigration crack squad, the Government has announced. A new £5 million investment will see specialist frontline staff sent to 80 jails in a bid to remove those with no right to stay and to ease the current capacity crisis, the Ministry of Justice said.

The new squad, which will be operational by April 1, will also support the Home Office to identify and manage those going through the immigration process, deporting criminals up to 18 months before the end of their custodial sentence and transferring them to serve sentences in their home countries.

There are more than 10,000 foreign national offenders (FNOs) in British jails. They make up around 12% of the total prison population, almost one in eight of all prisoners.

Some 3,200 have been removed since July last year, up 19% compared to the same period 12 months prior.

Almost 21,000 returns have taken place in the same period – the highest rate of removals for more than half a decade, the MoJ said.

According to the latest MoJ figures, as of February 24 the number of prisoners in England and Wales reached 87,199.

This is the highest figure since October 21 last year (87,465), the day before more than 1,000 prisoners were released early as part of the Government’s urgent measures to ease overcrowding.

Ministers have also promised to find a total of 14,000 cell spaces in jails by 2031 amid other long-term measures to fix prisons and cut reoffending.

Prisons minister Lord James Timpson said: “It cannot be right for British taxpayers to foot the bill for jailing foreign criminals who have brought misery to our communities.

“Under this Government, removals are up by nearly 20%. We’re now taking action to ensure this is done swifter, easing pressure on overcrowded prisons and on the public purse.

“This is part of our Plan for Change – fixing the broken prison system we inherited and keeping our streets safe.”