A row erupted on Saturday between Reform UK and the prison service over the provision of books to help foreign criminals to pass the British citizenship test.
Zia Yusuf claimed that ‘the establishment is working against patriotic British people’ after a designated specifically for foreign prisoners refused to remove books and practice papers on how to pass the Life in the UK Test – a key stepping stone to become a UK citizen.
After learning that HMP Maidstone had purchased the books for its inmates using taxpayers’ money, Reform wrote to the governor, Paul Mason, asking him to remove from the prison library ‘books and study material which may overtly help foreign national prisoners prepare for the ‘Life in the UK ‘ test and for the wider naturalisation process.’
Mr Mason refused, on the grounds that ‘prison libraries exists to support education, literacy, personal development and rehabilitation’.
He responded in a letter which said: ‘Having reviewed the material concerned, I have not identified any security, safety, good order, discipline or public protection concerns arising from the availability of Life in the UK Test study materials within the prison library. Nor is the publication subject to any national restriction.
As such, there is currently no policy basis upon which I could justify directing its removal from prison stock.’
Under current citizenship application guidelines, you are not officially disqualified from applying for British Citizenship even if you have served up to a 4-year prison sentence.
Earlier this year, Reform’s leader Nigel Farage announced plans to send the 10,000 foreign nationals in British jails to El Salvador if he comes to power.
Reform’s Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf claimed that ‘the establishment is working against patriotic British people’
Reform UK has learnt that HMP Maidstone (pictured) purchased the books for its inmates, using taxpayers’ money, to help foreign criminals to pass the British citizenship test
Mr Farage said at the time: ‘There are 10,800 foreign prisoners. You deport them, either back to their home country, or you find a third party country that is prepared to have them. That would clear space in prison, and by the way, save a fortune. Because having prisoners in this country is very expensive.’
Mr Yusuf, Reform’s Home Affairs spokesman, said: ‘Taxpayers will be shocked to learn they are being forced to help foreign criminals get British citizenship.
‘The books in the jails for foreign nationals are the result of Tory and Labour governments. When Reform’s Council demanded the books be removed, the Prison Governor refused.
‘The situation is clear: the establishment is working against patriotic British people. As Home Secretary I will deport every single prisoner in that jail.’
At last week’s Tory party conference in Birmingham, the Conservatives vowed to deport ‘every foreign criminal’ convicted of all but the most minor offences with 40,000 offenders a year ejected from Britain.
The Tories promised a ‘complete departure from 40 years of immigration law’ and stated that the number of ‘serious foreign criminals’ living in British communities who should have been removed from the UK had risen by more than a fifth under Labour to 21,294.
