Sir Edward Leigh, the Conservative Member of Parliament for the Gainsborough Constituency, has recently questioned the Rt. Hon. Theresa May MP, the Home Secretary, on the floor of the House of Commons if background checks on people entering the UK from EU countries are tight enough. Sir Edward asked:

“Can the Home Secretary confirm — I fear she cannot, but if she can, I for one will be delighted — that everybody entering this country from an EU destination has their passport checked not only against possible terrorist links but against whether they have a criminal record? I fear that these passports are not checked, so even if we can deport these people, they can, in reality, come straight back.”

Sir Edward’s concern on this issue comes in the light of the news that it has been increasingly difficult to remove 13,000 Foreign National Offenders remaining in UK’s prisons and communities, and particularly the removal of EU prisoners back to their country of origin.