I thank the hon. Member for that intervention, and I will come to that point in a minute, but I completely concur.
To recap, I asked the Home Office
“what information the Department holds on the number of irregular migrants defined as absconders.”
A Minister replied:
“The requested data is not readily accessible from published statistics, and could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at a disproportionate cost.”
That was not true.
On 3 September, I asked the Home Secretary
“what estimate she has made of the number of foreign nationals who have absconded after being served with a deportation order.”
The answer, from a different Minister, was:
“The Home Office does not hold any central record of the requested information.”
That was not true.
On 24 November, I questioned the Home Office permanent secretary in the Public Accounts Committee on the number of illegal migrants who have absconded from Home Office accommodation in the past five years. I got no concise answer.
During all this, a Home Office whistleblower presented themselves with these figures, in black and white, regularly disseminated within the Home Office. The actual data is as follows: there are 736 foreign criminals in the total absconder pool for foreign national offenders. That is 736 foreign criminals who have been released from prison and then absconded before deportation. Please think about that: 736 criminals—rapists, murderers, paedophiles. They were meant for deportation but have escaped into the community—736 of them. It is a terrifying thought.