BiD said EU citizens were being detained and deported for relatively minor crimes, such as driving offences. The organisation also said that many EU nationals had been removed from the UK before they were able to mount a legal challenge. Analysis of government data shows deportations of EU citizens are at their highest since records began, with 5,301 EU nationals removed during the year ending June 2017, an increase of 20% on the previous 12 months. More broadly, the number of EU citizens detained has increased sixfold since 2009. EU directives make it clear that it is illegal for member states to expel EU citizens “except on serious grounds of public policy or public security”.

Source: The Guardian September 30, 2017 19:07 UTC