Only a THIRD of foreign criminals in Home Office scandal have been kicked out of Britain

Fewer than a third of the foreign criminals wrongly released from jails have been tracked down and deported since the scandal erupted two years ago.

Bungling officials released 1,013 foreign offenders without considering them for deportation. The ensuing furore cost then Home Secretary Charles Clarke his job. 

Latest figures show that only 308 of the criminals have been found and sent home.

A further 389 have been allowed to stay in Britain, 177 are awaiting deportation and 34 are still serving jail sentences. The remaining 105 remain on the run.

Officials revealed that inducements to encourage foreign prisoners to go home before their sentences are complete have been increased from £2,500 to £3,000.

It is paid in the form of resettlement grants and help with retraining rather than in cash.

The Home Office says the £350,000 spent on this scheme has led to more prisoners leaving jail early, saving the taxpayer more than the cost of the grants.

Some 1,650 foreign prisoners are currently in detention having completed their sentences, waiting to be deported.

In a letter to MPs, Border Agency chief executive Lin Homer said a specialist team was still in place working on the complex and time-consuming cases of the 1,013 foreign prisoners.

She wrote: 'The age and complexity of these cases has lengthened both the legal and travel documentation processes beyond what we would normally expect.'

Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'It is outrageous that more than two years after this scandal cost a Home Secretary his job the Government has still managed to deport less than a third of these foreign prisoners, and hasn't even found more than 100.

'It shows Labour are incapable of getting a grip on the shambles in both our prison and immigration and asylum system.'