Thousands of suspected perpetrators of genocide are living in the UK and cannot be prosecuted because of a gap in UK law, the Guardian has learned.
Home Office figures show that since 2004, 1,863 individuals in the UK have been investigated for suspected involvement in of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Hundreds of further cases are being investigated each year with annual recommendations for immigration action, including deportation, at around 300 per year. News of the figures for immigration action against suspected perpetrators of genocide came as leading lawyers and campaign groups warned that without a change in the law, many will be immune from prosecution.
"It has been clear to me for some time that some war criminals have been taking refuge in the United Kingdom," said Lord Carlile, the Liberal Democrat peer and the government's independent reviewer of terrorism laws. "The message these figures send out is that war criminals are in some cases escaping to the UK and that is not acceptable."