STANDING in the dock of Canterbury crown court in November 2004, a smartly dressed woman who called herself Sheena Daniels was finally facing justice. Daniels, a con artist from Zimbabwe, had stolen the identity of a dead baby and a clerical worker and over a decade had defrauded British taxpayers of more than £120,000.

Daniels, an illegal immigrant whose real name is Sungaradazzo Mudgyiwa, was sentenced to 3½ years in prison for the elaborate benefits fraud and warned that she was likely to be deported on her release. To those in court that day, the message was clear: Britain was not a soft touch.

But less than 18 months after the case, Mudgyiwa is out of jail, she has not been deported and is back in her old council house in Whitstable, Kent. She is still even living under an assumed name that she stole from one of her victims.

Mudgyiwa is just one of many foreign prisoners who have benefited from the lax and often chaotic Home Office rules on deportation.

Last week, Tony Blair, embroiled in the row over freed foreign prisoners, pledged to restore public confidence in the system. He said all criminals who committed serious offences would be “automatically deported”.

His offensive on foreign nationals in Britain’s jail will now be spearheaded by John Reid, the new home secretary. Charles Clarke, his predecessor, was sacked by Blair on Friday, even though the prime minister previously insisted he should be allowed to remain in office to deal with the problems.

Cases uncovered by The Sunday Times show Blair’s plan is likely to founder on legal challenges, the problems of false identity and international relations. As one immigration lawyer observed last week: “When Blair started talking about people being deported automatically, I laughed my socks off. It’s just not going to happen.”

Mudgyiwa is among hundreds of Zimbabweans who have escaped deportation because of a ruling by the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal that the country is unsafe for deportees. The government has successfully challenged the ruling but is still not sending back deportees pending another legal hearing.

As Mudgyiwa explained after her release: “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying right here. Benefits cheating is not right, but everyone does it.”

Lawyers argue it is not just Zimbabwe that is unsafe. Countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Iran, Jamaica, Turkey and China may all be considered dangerous for some freed foreign prisoners.

Sex offenders claim they are particularly at risk. Courtney Burry, 39, a Jamaican who was jailed in 1996 for gross indecency involving a nine-year-old girl, is among those who have been allowed to stay in Britain.

Burry, who was also convicted on two counts of indecently assaulting a woman, told a tribunal that sex offenders were “stigmatised” in Jamaica and it would be unsafe for him to return. He was allowed to stay in the country and he has settled in Dumbarton, Scotland, where neighbours say he is living on benefits.

Since May 2004 the government has not been returning deportees to Somalia for reasons of safety, even though commercial airlines fly into the country. Those who have been allowed to stay include Salah Ahmed, 47, who was recommended for deportation after being sentenced to 2Å years for sexually abusing an eight-year-old boy.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• What makes the perfect mum?
• To keep me stress-free, no more awareness days, please
• What do lottery winners buy?