Prisoner scandal

last updated 8 January 2015

London

More than 1,000 foreign criminals who should have been considered for deportation after serving prison sentences in the U.K. were set free instead, Home Secretary Charles Clarke revealed last week. Touching off a political firestorm, Clarke also acknowledged that more than 288 of the accidental releases, which began in 1999 and continued through March 2006, occurred after he had been made aware of the problem last year. Clarke’s announcement prompted immediate calls for his resignation, which intensified after newspapers reported that at least five of the freed prisoners were later charged in new drug-related or violent crimes. “I very much regret the shortcomings which I’ve reported,” Clarke said. But he refused to step down, and Prime Minister Tony Blair said Clarke has his support.