Brexit will make it easier for Britain to deport EU criminals such as rapists and murderers, a leaked Home Office document shows.
Under the proposals listed in the 82-page paper, which was leaked to the left-liberal Guardian, the government would do away with EU rules which criminals can exploit to stay in the UK.
Currently, Britain may only deport EU citizens who have been judged to pose “a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat” to society and the general public, whilst migrants from outside Europe who are jailed for more than 12 months face automatic deportation.
The threshold for EU migrants who have lived in the UK for longer periods of time is higher still, with those resident for more than five years removable only on “serious grounds of public policy and public security”, and more than 10 years requires “imperative grounds of public security”.
British judges have taken the rules to mean that anyone who is not thought to pose an immediate threat should be allowed to stay, according to the Daily Mail.
The Home Office paper suggests that criminals from Europe will be treated the same way as those from elsewhere in the world after Brexit — making it much easier for Britain to deny visas to criminals and extremists from the continent.
Describing Brussels rules as “less strict, certain and predictable” than the government would like, the document says changing them would “improve the safety and security of the UK”.
The proposals have been welcomed by politicians including Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, who said recent terror attacks in Europe make it “more vital than ever” for Britain to have strong borders.
“That means stopping criminals from EU nations coming to Britain. And any foreign offenders that pose a threat should be deported,” said the MP, adding: “Deportation for foreign criminals should mean out of prison, out of the country.”
Outlined in the document are measures that the government would take to prevent thousands of criminals from Europe entering the country, including legislating for EU and non-EU criminals to be treated in the same way.
A dossier released last March listed 50 of the most notorious European criminals given free entry to Britain despite convictions in their countries, 45 of whom went on to commit serious offences including rape and murder whilst here.
Among them was Arnis Zalkalns who served seven years in his native Latvia for the murder of his wife before moving to the UK where he killed 14-year-old schoolgirl Alice Gross.
Earlier this week, Breitbart London reported on the case of a convicted sex attacker with a lengthy criminal record in his Romanian homeland, who launched a violent rape attempt on a grandmother in Britain after taking advantage of EU freedom of movement rules.