Should it be easier to deport foreign criminals?

Is human rights law making it too hard to deport foreign nationals who have committed serious crimes?

A general view of HM Prison Brixton
The government has allocated an extra £5 million to speed up deportations
(Image credit: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)

There has been a slew of headlines in recent months stating that foreign criminals have been allowed to stay in the UK following successful human rights challenges to deportations in court, on apparently spurious grounds.

The Daily Telegraph, which is campaigning on the issue, has reported many such cases: "Albanian criminal's deportation halted over son's distaste for chicken nuggets"; "Iranian criminal spared deportation so he can cut his son's hair"; "Psychotic Nigerian robber can stay in UK because he believes he is 'possessed'". These cases have sparked widespread criticism, particularly from the Right, and fresh discussions about the role played by human rights law and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

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