A Reform UK prison books row has erupted after HMP Maidstone refused to remove study materials designed to help inmates prepare for the Life in the UK citizenship test.
The party said the books had been bought for foreign national prisoners using taxpayers’ money and accused the prison service of assisting people seeking British citizenship.
Zia Yusuf, Reform’s Home Affairs spokesman, claimed that “the establishment is working against patriotic British people” after the prison rejected a request for the material to be taken out of its library.
Reform wrote to the governor, Paul Mason, asking him to remove “books and study material which may overtly help foreign national prisoners prepare for the ‘Life in the UK’ test and for the wider naturalisation process”.
Mr Mason declined to do so, saying prison libraries existed to support education, literacy, personal development and rehabilitation.
In his response, he said: “Having reviewed the material concerned, I have not identified any security, safety, good order, discipline or public protection concerns arising from the availability of Life in the UK Test study materials within the prison library.
“Nor is the publication subject to any national restriction. As such, there is currently no policy basis upon which I could justify directing its removal from prison stock.”
Under current citizenship application guidelines, serving a prison sentence of up to four years does not officially disqualify a person from applying for British citizenship.
Mr Yusuf said: “Taxpayers will be shocked to learn they are being forced to help foreign criminals get British citizenship.
“The books in the jails for foreign nationals are the result of Tory and Labour governments. When Reform’s Council demanded the books be removed, the Prison Governor refused.
“The situation is clear: the establishment is working against patriotic British people. As Home Secretary I will deport every single prisoner in that jail.”
Earlier this year, Reform leader Nigel Farage announced plans to send the 10,000 foreign nationals in British jails to El Salvador if his party came to power.
Mr Farage said at the time: “There are 10,800 foreign prisoners. You deport them, either back to their home country, or you find a third party country that is prepared to have them. That would clear space in prison, and by the way, save a fortune. Because having prisoners in this country is very expensive.”
The dispute comes after the Conservatives said at their party conference in Birmingham last week that they would deport “every foreign criminal” convicted of all but the most minor offences.
The party said its proposals would result in 40,000 offenders being removed from Britain each year and described them as a “complete departure from 40 years of immigration law”. It also said the number of “serious foreign criminals” living in British communities who should have been deported had risen by more than a fifth under Labour to 21,294.
