To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) existing and (b) planned measures will be used to implement the Prime Minister’s undertaking to deport newcomers to the UK who are caught (i) selling drugs or (ii) using guns; whether this policy will apply to all foreign nationals convicted of drugs and firearms offences; and if she will make a statement. (163777)

The Government are committed to pursuing the deportation of foreign nationals convicted of using firearms and selling drugs.

Deportation Orders in such cases are already made under powers in Section 3(5) of the Immigration Act 1971. The automatic deportation provisions of the UK Borders Act 2007 will bring greater certainty and clarify to the deportation process. Foreign nationals imprisoned for serious crimes will know, from the point of sentence, that they will be deported save where one of a narrow list of exceptions applies.