Hundreds of Albanians behind British bars
DOZENS of hardcore Albanian prisoners who should have been sent back home from overcrowded UK jails are still behind bars despite an agreement signed between the two countries five years ago.
The deal signed in 2013 was supposed to save taxpayers £25million and initially more than 100 Albanian prisoners were earmarked for transfer but The Sun has learnt just 23 have been sent back.
Many are opposing the move by claiming their human rights will be affected with some also managing to stay on after falsely claiming asylum by misleading British authorities and claiming to be Kosovan refugees.
Latest figures reveal there are 716 Albanian prisoners in UK jails and many of them are convicted murderers, sex offenders and drug dealers serving legthy sentences but who also have outstanding jail terms back home.
The 2013 scheme was earmarked for prisoners sentenced by UK courts serving jail terms of four years or more and at the time prisons minster Jeremy Wright said: “I am delighted to have been able to co-sign this prisoner transfer agreement with my Albanian counterpart today.
“The co-operation of the Albanian authorities has been crucial in ensuring these negotiations have proved so fruitful.
“The British Government wants more foreign national prisoners to serve their sentences in their home country. We will continue to work with other governments to share best practice, improve standards and ultimately save the British taxpayer money.”
Earlier this week officials from the Ministry of Justice held crisis talks with counterparts in Tirana to discuss how the process can be speeded up to save taxpayers money.
In a Facebook posting the Embassy in Tirana said: “British and Albanian judges, prosecutors and experts have been researching ways yo improve the Bilateral Prison Transfer Agreement between the UK and Albanian.
“Our experts have analysed 23 cases and have discussed their findings.”
Several high profile hard core Albanian villains are serving lengthy sentences in British jails for evil crimes including murder, drug trafficking and assault./THE Sun