Foreigner Watch 4

Britain's prison population crisis is being fuelled by a big increase in foreign criminals, Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, said yesterday.

Mr Clarke told MPs that overseas nationals now made up about one in eight inmates - almost 10,000 out of a record 78,000.

Over the past five years, while the number of British prisoners had gone up by 11 per cent, there had been a 75 per cent increase in foreigners, taking up 3,500 more prison places than anticipated.

The jail population is now close to critical levels, with police cells once again being used to hold remand prisoners, more inmates being forced to share cells and officials desperately searching for extra accommodation.

Ministers are considering letting more prisoners out early under curfew to help ease pressures.

According to Home Office figures, in 2000 there were 5,586 foreign prisoners.

Today there are almost 10,000. There are around 165 nationalities in custody at a cost of more than £300 million a year.

The problem is particularly acute among women inmates, with one in five now a foreign national - the majority Jamaicans jailed for drug smuggling.

How dare these foreigners come here and commit crimes. Proportionately foreigners seem to be doing more crime. If they aren't it is is even more worrying that they make up 1 in 8 criminals.

Foreign criminals should face the death penalty on any crime for abusing our hospitality. Isn't it now time to shut our boarders so no more immigrants and asylum seekers are able to enter because it is obvious that a lot of them are just abusing our hospitality.