"The hunt for more than 1,000 foreign prisoners who were freed without being considered for deportation has been quietly wound down, even though hundreds are still on the run.
The team of 60 police and probation and immigration officers who were spearheading the hunt have been disbanded. Officers have returned to normal duties and the police station they were using has been vacated.
At the last count, more than 400 of the prisoners had not been traced. They included 74 violent and sexual offenders, seven of them guilty of murder, manslaughter, rape or sexual offences against children.
The Home Office conceded yesterday that the manhunt was no longer a "priority", despite so many offenders remaining at large.
John Reid, soon after his appointment as Home Secretary, said he would "move heaven and earth" to find the prisoners, and critics yesterday accused the Government of reneging on that pledge."
The special team was probably delivering diminishing returns, but even so... And so another scandal quietly fades away.
No comments:
Post a Comment