Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is an absolute right and cannot be balanced against the public interest.

Over time, the interpretation of “inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” has been expanded. We have seen that Article 3 can create a barrier to return - including in medical cases, extradition and foreign national offenders excluded from protection.

In line with The Chisinau Political Declaration, adopted by consensus by the Council of Europe, the Government will ensure that Article 3 must remain tightly applied, with a high threshold.

Article 8, the right to private and family life, is a qualified right, meaning interference can be justified where proportionate to the public interest. The government considers that Article 8 has been applied too broadly in some immigration and deportation cases, including where individuals cannot meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules.

Article 8 is intended as a safeguard. Yet with 77,000 applications granted on the basis of Article 8 in the past year alone, it is having a significant impact on our ability to enforce the Immigration Rules and tackle illegal migration.

The Government has therefore introduced provisions in the Immigration and Asylum Bill to clarify the application of Article 8 by strengthening the weight given to effective immigration control, compliance with immigration rules and the public interest in deportation decisions. The Bill will also make clear that deporting foreign criminals is in the public interest and will always be appropriate unless the individual impact cannot be justified by that public interest.

A breakdown by the number of charges and convictions for all criminal offences is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Security checks are undertaken for all those arriving through illegal migration routes and law enforcement have the powers to deal with them appropriately. All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. These checks are critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system. These system and security database checks are completed during the asylum screening process and before a decision is made.

We continually assess potential threats in the UK. The Home Office works closely with other government departments as well as relevant agencies and law enforcement.

A breakdown by the number of charges and convictions for all criminal offences is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Security checks are undertaken for all those arriving through illegal migration routes and law enforcement have the powers to deal with them appropriately. All asylum claimants are subject to mandatory security checks to confirm their identity and to link it to their biometric details for the purpose of immigration, security and criminality checks. These checks are critical to the delivery of a safe and secure immigration system. These system and security database checks are completed during the asylum screening process and before a decision is made.

We continually assess potential threats in the UK. The Home Office works closely with other government departments as well as relevant agencies and law enforcement.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Parliamentary Question of 8th July is attached.

The figure was derived from a review of Home Office case working systems and includes individuals who are believed to be in the UK and do not have valid leave recorded. The figure also includes foreign nationals who hold valid leave but are being considered for deportation following a criminal conviction, and reflects individuals known to the Home Office.

To be clear, this figure is not a definitive list of every illegal migrant in the UK. Rather, it is the number of cases contained within an internal Home Office workflow database, which the Department uses to support the prioritisation of case management and enforcement activity.

Between 1 July 2024 and 31 May 2026, Immigration Enforcement conducted 2,913 enforcement visits in Northern Ireland resulting in 2,425 arrests, with nearly 1,000 (963) people subsequently returned, almost 500 (493) of whom had a destination of Ireland.

There is published transparency data relating to enforcement activity in Northern Ireland here - Northern Ireland enforcement activity between 1 October 2022 and 31 May 2026 - GOV.UK. Returns from the UK include both voluntary and enforced returns.

More detailed information on removals from Northern Ireland, including nationalities and countries involved, is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Around 7% of individuals removed or returned in the year ending March 2026 had arrived in the UK via small boat. We are targeting those behind these unacceptable crossings, with Organised Immigration Crime arrests up 55%, wider disruptions to criminal smuggling networks up nearly 50%, and small boat arrivals down around 40% so far this year.

We assess that current ECHR interpretation has undermined our Immigration Rules and effective immigration control.

The Immigration, Asylum and Appeals Bill, introduced on the 30 June, will therefore, deliver a fundamental reset of the balance between individual Article 8 rights and the public interest.

Last November, we announced the most significant reforms to the asylum system in a generation, and on 30 June introduced the Immigration and Asylum Bill to deliver them.

We are already backing these reforms with action: by December 2025, returns had increased by 27% and illegal working visits by 77% compared with the previous 18 months, while small boat arrivals are down 40% in 2026.

The Home Office publishes statistics on the number of people who are detected arriving in the UK via illegal entry routes in the Immigration system statistics quarterly release. The published statistics do not show whether those arriving have previously been convicted of a crime.

Information on the number of people in the immigration system who may have foreign convictions would involve collating and verifying information from multiple systems owned by various teams across the Home Office and, therefore, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Our landmark UK-France returns deal means we can send those who arrive on small boats straight back to France – striking at the heart of the gangs’ business model. This has seen us deport more than 1,000 illegal migrants from British soil.

The UK-France returns arrangement remains a pilot scheme and has been extended until October 2026, allowing it to be further scaled and tested over the peak summer period. There is no single silver bullet to end small boat crossings, and this pilot is only one element of our partnership with France, within our wider strategy. I continue to work with my European counterparts to build a comprehensive approach to control migration between the EU and the UK.

The Government takes the welfare and safety of those in its care seriously. Each case considered under the pilot is assessed on an individual basis, including consideration of safeguarding, vulnerability and suitability for removal. Appropriate safeguards are in place, and individuals are able to make representations before any removal takes place.

Where an individual is detained, the suitability of ongoing detention is regularly reviewed, and where there is no legal barrier, removal will proceed.

Individuals are not removed to France where their age is in dispute, given the terms of the Treaty sets out those removed will be individuals who have been determined to be an adult. Removing minors to France is explicitly prohibited under Article 4(2)(d) of the Agreement.

We will continue to work with French authorities to ensure swift, lawful processing under the Agreement and to maintain public safety. We are continuously monitoring and evaluating our pilot, alongside the procedures in place to deliver it.

The Government is taking decisive action to reduce Channel crossings by strengthening border security, intensifying cooperation with our international partners such as France, and targeting the criminal gangs who facilitate these dangerous journeys. We have also implemented new powers under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 including new powers to target smuggling networks and seize evidence used to facilitate crossings.

Cooperation has also been strengthened with France, including increased funding for policing, surveillance, and intelligence activity in northern France to stop boats before they launch. Joint UK-France action prevented over 22,000 attempted crossings in 2025, and the UK continues to work with international partners to disrupt smuggling networks, tackle illegal migration routes, and increase returns.

Alongside this, the Government is pursuing reforms to the asylum and returns system to reduce the incentives for dangerous illegal migration and restore order to the immigration system. More on this has been set out at this link.

The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

All individuals seeking to come to the UK under the UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme, part of the UK-France Agreement, undergo stringent security and criminal checks. Any who fail these will not be permitted entry to the UK. Furthermore, any individuals who then proceed to make an asylum claim in the UK are subject to robust, mandatory security checks.

Under our agreement with France, we have removed over 1000 illegal migrants from British soil, contributing to the nearly 70,000 illegal migrants who have been returned since July 2024.

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release