Sexual convictions by foreign nationals have soared by a staggering 62% in four years, official data shows. In 2024, one in seven sexual convictions, including rape, were by foreign nationals, which totalled 14.1%, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics extracted from the Police National Computer (PNC). The data comes as 27,997 migrants reached the UK in small boats so far this year – the highest number at this point since records of arrivals began in 2018.
The rate of increase over the four years between 2021 and 2024 is nearly double that of British nationals, whose sexual offence convictions jumped by 39.3%. The data, obtained via a Freedom of Information request by the think tank Centre for Migration Control, also shows a staggering rise in other offences by foreign nationals.
Convictions for theft by foreign nationals have risen by 77.9% over the same period, as robbery convictions rose by 18.9%. This compares to an increase of 55.8% and 2.8% respectively for British nationals.
The figures were recorded over time, including when net migration reached 906,000 in 2023, followed by a surge in small boat crossings via the Channel.
Of the foreign nationals convicted for sexual offences in 2024, the nationalities with the highest amount were: Indians (100), Romanians (92), Poles (83), Pakistanis (56), Afghans (43), Nigerians (40), Sudanese (37), Bangladeshi (34) and Portuguese (33).
The rise in the number of sex offences committed by foreign nationals by 62% took the figure from 687 in 2021 to 1,114 in 2024. For British nationals, the figure rose from 4,409 to 6,142.
Robert Bates, the research director of the Centre for Migration Control, said: “It is unconscionable for the Government to continue with business as usual when this data shows that action, such as the introduction of a red list, is now urgently needed.”
A Government spokesman told the Telegraph: “Any foreign national who commits these kinds of sexual offences in our country will face the full force of the law, and be deported at the earliest opportunity. And thanks to the reforms in our border security bill, any asylum claims they make will also be denied.
“This Government has already removed almost 5,200 foreign national offenders in its first year in office, a 14 per cent increase on the previous 12 months, and we will continue to crack down on any foreign nationals who come to this country and break our rules.”
