From today's Guardian (here):
"He [Mr Clarke] spoke after sending the Commons home affairs select committee a detailed defence of his handling of the foreign prisoner row. Mr Clarke insisted in a five-page letter that he had only been made aware in March 2006 of the failure to consider some foreign prisoners for deportation at the end of their sentences.
"When we were aware of this, action was then taken."
From The Guardian of 26 April (here):
How did the problem emerge?
Last October the Home Office admitted to MPs that 403 foreign nationals had been released between 2001 and 2005 without being considered for deportation. Home secretary Charles Clarke yesterday admitted that figure was wrong. He said between February 1999 and last month, there were 1,023 cases.
Was the government warned of the problem?
Yes. The Prisons Inspectorate warned as long ago as 2003 of an "institutional blind spot" on foreign nationals. It warned that 32 prisons did not know how many foreigners they held until the inspectorate informed them. It also criticised the "dilatory attitude" of the immigration service, which inspectors said were not monitoring those liable for deportation. Last July the National Audit Office also said that preparations for removing foreign criminals should begin much earlier and not left until the end of prison sentences.
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