National Crime Agency chiefs have previously warned that a “significant number” of Albanians who had entered the UK illegally were working for organised criminal drug gangs.
Backers of the league table plan believe it will help the Government strengthen immigration policy on three fronts. First, they said it would allow the Home Office to tighten screening of visas from countries with nationals linked to higher crime rates in the UK. A similar approach could be taken to asylum applications. They also say it would enable the Home Office to focus deportations and returns agreements on those countries.
Mr Jenrick said: “An open immigration system is creating serious problems in communities, but without data, we can’t have an informed debate.”
Sir Robert said Denmark and the US had a similar approach to tackling immigration, as both countries had developed proposals to process asylum claims of migrants offshore in Rwanda.
“The Danes think similarly to us. They were the ones looking at third-country processing agreements. I don’t think anyone can suggest they are not compliant with international laws yet they are rightly adopting a robust and fair approach,” he said.
“Anything that makes us more efficient in the way we process claims to sift out people whose presence would be a detriment to our country should be considered.”
Among MPs backing the plan are former ministers Andrea Jenkyns, Sir Simon Clarke, Neil O’Brien, Jonathan Djanogly, Sir Desmond Swayne, Sarah Dines, Sir James Duddridge, Heather Wheeler and Caroline Johnson.
The Danish Government’s data on migrant crimes enables researchers to compile league tables showing which nations have the highest conviction rate relative to Danish nationals.
Japanese, US, Australian, Austrian, Argentinian and Indian citizens have the lowest rates at half those of Danes, while more than 40 nations have higher conviction rates for violent crime.
Denmark has some of the toughest immigration policies in Europe and has been seeking to work with other EU countries to deport migrants to a third country outside the bloc where their asylum claims would be processed.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
