Leave claims EU stops deportation of foreign criminals

They include the Italian man who murdered headteacher Philip Lawrence and a Polish woman who kicked her husband to death.

But the Remain campaign argued membership of the EU had allowed thousands of criminals to be deported using the European Arrest Warrant.

The Vote Leave dossier includes six people guilty of killing and five responsible for sex offences.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab, a Vote Leave supporter, said: “This is yet more evidence of how EU membership makes us less safe. Free movement of people allows unelected judges in the rogue European Court to decide who we can and can’t deport.

“This puts British families at risk. It squanders UK taxpayers’ money on keeping them in prison - and that’s on top of the £50 million we send to the EU every day.”

The Britain Stronger in Europe campaign argued the Prime Minister’s renegotiation of this country’s EU membership terms had strengthened the position of British courts.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said: “The UK sought greater control over the deportation of foreign criminals in its EU renegotiation - and that’s precisely what the Prime Minister’s deal delivered.

“The International Law Decision we secured means our ability to deport foreign criminals is strengthened, and it is now clear that the UK can take into account the full background of a criminal in a decision over whether to deport.

“The bigger picture is that our access to the European Arrest Warrant has allowed us to deport 6,500 European criminals since 2010. That’s 130 times the number of criminals Vote Leave have identified.

“If we left the EU, we could no longer use the European Arrest Warrant. That’s just one of the reasons we are safer inside the EU, where we can cooperate to deal far more effectively with crime and security.”