The rise in the number of foreign criminals in Britain comes despite a series of crackdowns by Home Secretary Theresa May (pictured) The number of foreign criminals on Britain’s streets has risen by almost 20 per cent, despite repeated Government attempts to kick more of them out. Official figures show there are now close to 5,000 immigrants at large after being released from jail, a record high. Dozens are continuing to avoid deportation by claiming they have the human right to a family life in Britain. Recent cases uncovered by The Mail on Sunday include: . - A drunken Lithuanian thug who dragged his ex-girlfriend by her hair and beat her up, and who is now barred from seeing her – but who has been allowed to remain in the country because they have a child; . - A Sri Lankan illegal immigrant who has a string of convictions to his name, including indecent assault, theft and driving offences, who has avoided deportation despite a judge admitting it was a ‘somewhat generous’ decision; . - A Tanzanian fraudster who won his appeal against being sent back to his home country because he does the school run for his children and takes them to their piano lessons . The rise comes despite a series of crackdowns by Home Secretary Theresa May, who has ordered judges to take less notice of human rights sob stories and introduced a ‘deport now, appeal later’ rule. The figures will be another setback to the Home Secretary after the high-profile failure of her flagship pledge to reduce net migration – the growth of the UK population – to the ‘tens of thousands’. New figures released last month showed that the annual growth was instead closer to 300,000 – the highest level since 2005. Last night David Hanson, Labour’s immigration spokesman, said: ‘For all Theresa May’s bluster, the truth is that on her watch fewer foreign criminals are being detained or deported making it easier for them to carry on living here in the UK. Human rights lawyers claimed a staggering £280 an hour to represent a notorious terror suspect. The lawyers were acting for Egyptian hate preacher Yasser Al-Sirri, who has lived in Britain for 20 years after being convicted of a plot to assassinate Egypt’s prime minister. During that time he has been acquitted of conspiring to murder an Afghan leader. Yasser Al-Sirri, an associate of the notorious preacher Abu Qatada, took his case to the Supreme Court to get refugee status. The pair are pictured together in London . Al-Sirri, an associate of the notorious preacher Abu Qatada, took his case to the Supreme Court to get refugee status. The Home Office revealed that his solicitors Birnberg Peirceclaimed £280 an hour for costs after winning the case, and were paid a total of £62,000. It was the highest amount paid by the Home Office in legal costs to a law firm bringing an action against the Government in the year 2013-14. ...but bad news for the rest of us . As Al-Sirri won his case, the costs were picked up by the Home Office – which means you, the taxpayer, picked up the bill. ‘It’s unacceptable and is yet more evidence of how badly the Home Secretary has failed on crime. 'The Government’s long and ever growing record of incompetence and failure on crime and public safety shows why nobody trusts them on this issue.’ Home Office data shows that the number of foreign national offenders who are currently still in Britain, having served their time in jail, stood at 4,903 at the end of last year. Shock figures: Our report last month about foreign criminals . That represents an 18 per cent rise from the 4,153 recorded a year earlier. Of those 4,903, 1,634 have been at large for more than five years. In the last three months of 2014, 312 new foreign criminals who were eligible for deportation were ‘released into the community’. Only five were deported immediately, with a further 196 still being ‘caseworked’ and 62 suffering ‘legal issues’ while 32 had ‘removal issues’. The data shows that, overall, there were 570 foreign criminals fighting removal at the end of last year. Of these, 43 were claiming asylum, 201 were appealing against their deportation in courts and tribunals, and nine had children or family members living in the UK, meaning they could not be removed. Another six escaped being deported because of fears they would suffer torture or persecution back in their homeland. Five had medical conditions that kept them in the UK and – incredibly – nine could not be deported simply because officials do not know to which country they should be returned. CASE ONE - Thug has son with victim, so stays . Lithuanian Olegas Lvovas, 24, was jailed for 16 months for dragging his ex-partner into the street by her hair, hitting her and threatening her with a knife. There is a restraining order to stop him hurting her again. But he won an appeal against deportation as he has a son with his victim, who has visited him in prison. CASE TWO - Saved by his British wedding . Since Sri Lankan asylum seeker Vijayakaran Tissaweerasingam arrived illegally in Dover in 1999, he has been convicted of indecent assault, theft and driving offences. He married a UK citizen after release from jail and was given the right to remain. A judge said it was a ‘generous’ decision. CASE THREE - Freed 'to do the school run' Cryton Sijaona, from Tanzania, was sentenced to 18 months for getting permission to live in the UK on ‘fraudulent’ grounds. But immigration judges said that he had a ‘strong bond’ with his children – he took them to school and piano lessons – so it would be ‘unduly harsh’ to send him home. More than 200 were being held up because the offenders did not have a passport and needed an emergency travel document from their home country’s embassy before they could fly out. A staggering 151 foreign criminals have been waiting for more than a year for such a document, while 294 offenders were involved in ‘failed removals’ – often because they refused to board planes or went on the run. But 653 foreign criminals were sent home under controversial schemes that allow prisoners to leave before their sentence finishes. Some even received up to £1,500 for co-operating. The rise comes despite a series of crackdowns by Home Secretary Theresa May (pictured), who has ordered judges to take less notice of human rights sob stories and introduced a ‘deport now, appeal later’ rule . The average time to deport a foreign offender now stands at 152 days, according to the Home Office figures, up sharply from 111 days when the previous figures were published three months earlier. Although thousands of criminals roam the streets, another 1,387 remain in immigration detention after serving their sentences – at an average cost of £96 a day. Foreign criminals make up about one in eight – or 11,000 – of all those behind bars in England and Wales. The Home Office said it was getting to grips with the problem and had removed almost 5,100 foreign national offenders in the past year. Out of 570 active deportation cases in the last three months of 2014... 93 are waiting for passports . 140 are using lack of papers to hinder deportation . 9 refuse to say where they're from . 9 claim they have married partners and/or children in the UK . 43 claim they have refugee status . 6 claim their home country is too dangerous to return to . 23 face further legal action in the UK . 201 cases with unspecified grounds for appeal .
The number of foreign criminals on Britain's streets has risen 20 per cent . Nearly 5,000 immigrants at large after being released from jail, figures show . Dozens avoiding deportation by claiming human right to family life in UK . It comes despite a series of crackdowns by Home Secretary Theresa May .