The Jamaican government says it
will not support the UK’s plans to send home up to 1,000 prisoners of Jamaican
descent and other nationalities, even if they do not consent to being deported.
National Security Minister, Dwight
Nelson said that such plans announced by David Cameron would go against a
pre-existing arrangement between Jamaica and the UK and would not accept the
UK’s attempt to change this to suit its purpose.
He said: “We have an agreement
with the United Kingdom and we stand by that agreement.”
Nelson’s comments came after a
report in the Daily Mail that said Cameron is planning to send home thousands
of foreign prisoners to complete their sentences in their own countries.
As part of a cost-cutting drive,
Cameron plans to tear up agreements that mean convicts cannot be returned home
without their consent.
The number of foreign inmates in
Britain’s jails approaches one in seven – with Jamaica tops a league table of
countries with prisoners in British jails followed by Nigeria and the Irish
Republic, costing the taxpayer up $61,000 a year.
Nelson continued: “Jamaican
laws do not permit people who commit offences within other jurisdictions to
serve their sentences in this country.”
“If they (the UK) envisage any
changes, let us talk about it,” he declared.
However, it is thought that the
initiative could run into problems because convicts – supported by lawyers –
may try to use human rights laws to stay in this country.
But a Government source said that
Cameron would do ‘everything within his power’ to see that the prison
population is drastically reduced by 2014 in line with the 23 per cent budget
cuts.
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