The United Kingdom’s Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Philp, has called for the deportation of foreign nationals convicted of serious crimes, citing the case of Nigerian national Gift Oladele as an example.
Philp made the remarks during a parliamentary debate on illegal migration on Monday, arguing that foreign offenders should be removed from the UK after completing their prison sentences.
Referring to Oladele’s case, the opposition lawmaker said the Nigerian had previously been the subject of deportation efforts by the Home Office but was allowed to remain in the country following a decision by an immigration tribunal.
According to Philp, the decision enabled Oladele to remain in the UK, where he later committed a serious sexual offence against a teenage woman.
“I believe the rights of women and girls to be protected are more important than the supposed human rights of foreign rapists to stay here. Is it not time to leave the European Convention on Human Rights so that all criminals such as Oladele can be deported?” he said during the debate.
Responding, Alex Norris agreed that the case was disturbing but defended the government’s approach, stating that nearly 8,000 foreign offenders had been removed from the UK since the current administration assumed office.
Norris argued that withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights would weaken existing agreements used to return offenders to their countries of origin, adding that reforms within the current framework would be more effective.
Oladele, 24, was sentenced in April by the Caernarfon Crown Court in Wales to 25 years imprisonment after being convicted of the violent rape of a 19-year-old woman in Wrexham.
Prosecutors said the attack left the victim traumatised and struggling with recurring nightmares.
