The British Government has made some major changes in its extradition policy. It may be noted that Theresa Mary May, as the Home Secretary of Britain, had introduced the Deport Now, Appeal Later policy in 2014 as part of the Conservative Government‘s hostile environment policy in an attempt to reduce migration. As per this policy, if a foreign national living in Britain is arrested for committing a crime, s/he will first be sent back to her/his home country and the complainant will then be able to fight the specific case against that person through an application. Initially, there were eight countries on the list as offenders were being returned to Albania, Belize, Estonia, Finland, Kosovo, Mauritius, Nigeria and Tanzania for remote hearings. The Labour Government, led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Rodney Starmer, has expanded the partnership from eight to 23 countries in order to take a tougher measure against illegal immigration.

In the second week of August 2025, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed the news, stating that the government expanded (its) fast-track deportation scheme for convicted foreign offenders by adding 15 new countries (Angola, Australia, Botswana, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Uganda and Zambia) under the Deport Now, Appeal Later policy. She told the press: “Those who commit crimes in our country cannot be allowed to manipulate the system, which is why we are restoring control and sending a clear message that our laws must be respected and will be enforced.“

Cooper claimed that the previous policy allowed immigrants to stay in Britain for months or even years after committing crimes just to fight their cases. The Home Secretary stressed that the move is aimed at preventing foreign criminals from “exploiting our immigration system”. It would also “fast-track” their removals, she added.

Currently, prisons in England and Wales are experiencing a severe overcrowding crisis, with some reports suggesting they are at nearly 100% capacity. In June 2025, there were 10,772 foreign offenders (12.3% of the total prison population) in prisons in England and Wales. The number of Indian offenders was 320.

Read: UK’s extradition act amendment caters to political expediency

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “We are leading diplomatic efforts to increase the number of countries where foreign criminals can be swiftly returned, and if they want to appeal, they can do so safely from their home country.” He added: “Under this scheme, we’re investing in international partnerships that uphold our security and make our streets safer.“

It may be noted that Prime Minister Starmer, in 2015, had questioned whether such a policy was workable, stressing that in-person appeals were the norm for 200 years and had been a “highly effective way of resolving differences“. He also expressed concerns about the impact on children, if parents were deported and then returned after a successful appeal. Now, the Starmer Administration has stated that it wants to prevent people from “gaming the system” and clamp down on people staying in the UK for “months or years” while appeals are heard.

The British Government has further claimed that changes in its extradition policy primarily involve increased focus on Human Rights considerations and a “neither confirm nor deny” policy for ongoing extradition requests. These changes reflect a balancing act between international cooperation in criminal justice and safeguarding individual rights. However, political analysts are of the opinion that the recent amendment to the extradition policy appears to be driven by political considerations rather than solely legal ones, potentially undermining the principles of international cooperation and legal certainty. The changes introduce a level of discretion that allows Britain to accept or reject extradition requests based on political motivations, which (according to critics) is a dangerous precedent.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das