Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has suggested that foreign prisoners should serve their sentences in other countries to eliminate the need for the Labour government’s early release program. The party is currently investigating the potential for renting prison space from nations such as El Salvador, Kosovo, Estonia, and Lithuania. Reform chairman Lee Anderson is expected to initiate discussions in El Salvador soon.
The initiative aims to vacate over 10,000 prison slots occupied by foreign nationals. By combining this with the construction of emergency Nightingale-style prisons, Reform claims it could mandate that serious offenders complete their full prison terms. Under the proposed policy, those receiving non-custodial sentences would face immediate deportation, while those with custodial sentences would be sent to their home countries or to a contracted third-party facility.
Labour officials have dismissed the plan, arguing that securing such international agreements would take years and provides no immediate solution to current overcrowding. The government is currently under pressure as it prepares to release the first cohort of 5,000 prisoners in October to manage capacity issues. While Labour has excluded specific serious offenders from the scheme, they maintain that further exemptions are currently unfeasible.
At the end of June, there were over 10,000 foreign nationals in custody in England and Wales. Reform insists its approach would eventually add 22,000 spaces to the system, enabling tougher sentencing and ensuring that violent criminals do not receive early release. Conversely, the government highlights its own efforts, noting an increase in the removal of foreign criminals since the recent election.
