Countries that refuse to take back offenders face visa shut-out, warn ministers

COUNTRIES that refuse to take back their offenders face a visa shut-out, ministers have warned.

Those who fail to co-operate in Britain’s deportation blitz would face sanctions, immigration minister Angela Eagle declared yesterday.

This could include blocking visas, making them more expensive, or deliberately delaying their approval.

Ms Eagle put foreign governments on notice after being challenged to use the powers from Tory Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.

She said: “If co-operation with countries falls below the levels expected, we stand ready to use all levers available to us to encourage action — including the power to impose visa penalties.”

Labour have pledged to ramp up returns for migrants with no right to be here, either because they have committed a crime or arrived illegally.

They have hailed 19,000 deportations since coming to power from July.

But most of these were voluntarily returns, and are still dwarfed by the 25,000 small boat arrivals in that time.

Officials say four of the UK’s biggest-ever deportation flights have already taken off, carrying more than 850 people.

Yesterday Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said releasing footage of deportations is part of efforts to restore public confidence in the immigration system.

She added: "That’s why, as part of the Government’s Plan for Change, we have put significant additional resource into immigration enforcement and returns, so those who have no right to be here, particularly those who have committed crimes in our country, are removed as swiftly as possible."