Prisoners: Foreign Nationals
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the prison population is made up of foreign national offenders; and how many foreign national offenders have been removed from the UK in the last 12 months.
Answered by Jake Richards
As of 31 December 2025, Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) made up 12% of the prison population of England and Wales. This is the latest available published data and can be found at Table 1_Q_11 in the attached link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6978d8c475d4437096552064/prison-population-31-Dec-2025.ods
The Home Office are responsible for the removal of FNOs, and their latest published data shows that between 1 February 2025 and 31 January 2026 there were 5,689 FNOs removed of which 3,044 were removed under the Early Removal Scheme. The full data can be found here: Returns from the UK between 1 December 2022 and 31 January 2026 - GOV.UK
All Foreign National Offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and will be barred from ever returning to the UK. Deportations of foreign national offenders including murderers and rapists are up 32%, with more than 8,700 deported since this Government came into power.
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