More than 3,200 foreign criminals kicked out of the UK in just two years

Thousands of foreign criminals have been deported from the UK in the past two years thanks to a special operation bringing immigration and police forces closer together.

Under Operation Nexus, more than 3,200 foreign crooks have been kicked out of the country, ranging from petty thieves and beggars to around 190 “dangerous” offenders believed to pose a serious threat.

ITV News was granted exclusive access to the custody suite at Charing Cross, the busiest centre in London, to see how the operation works.

Paul Wylie, director of immigration enforcement in the capital, said officers skilled not only in identifying nationality, but trained in detecting forgery, were being placed within normal custody suites – meaning they are able to challenge the person’s basis for identity.

Often, he said, foreign nationals will pretend to be from a country which is in the EU, such as Poland, when in fact they are from elsewhere and thus can be deported much more efficiently, saving the taxpayer thousands of pounds in prosecution and court costs.

He added that the officers were now able to more effectively target what he called “harmful” gang members, many of whom had not been in their home country since they were children.

One of the offenders the team has dealt with recently was a Romanian man arrested for the minor offence of urinating against a phone box - but when officers checked with police in his native country, they discovered he was wanted for a string of serious offences including rape.

Successful trials of Operation Nexus in London and the West Midlands has meant the scheme is now being rolled out to other police forces in Greater Manchester, Scotland, Merseyside, Cleveland, Kent, Cheshire, Wales and West Yorkshire, with more set to sign up in future.

It works by officers checking the immigration status and criminal background of all foreign nationals, with Scotland Yard also pledging to carry out checks on EU migrants too.

Cross-force fingerprint checks are also being carried out between forces in London, the West Midlands, Kent and British Transport Police.

Immigration and Security Minister James Brokenshire welcomed the figures.