Tories vow to deport 40,000 foreign criminals a year but Reform accuses them of copying its policies

From the Newshound archive · first published 27 September 2026 · last updated 28 September 2026.

Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives have unveiled a five-point plan promising automatic deportation for any foreign national convicted of anything beyond the least serious offences, with annual removal targets rising from 6,000 to 40,000. The plan would strip dual nationals of British citizenship if jailed for more than five years and ban all deportees from returning without the Home Secretary's personal approval. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp warned that Labour has allowed upwards of 21,000 serious foreign criminals to remain free in British communities. The proposals hinge on quitting the European Convention on Human Rights, which the Tories say courts are exploiting to block removals.

Zia Yusuf, Reform's home affairs spokesman, hit back: 'A Conservative government created this crisis — now they're shamelessly copying Reform's policies.'

The Tories found that not a single foreign criminal was deported to Iran, Sudan, Eritrea or Syria last year, even though 839 nationals of those countries were held in English and Welsh jails.

Under the Conservative plan, countries that refuse to accept the return of their nationals would be hit with visa restrictions and reductions in overseas aid.