Zimbabwean 'criminals' deported from the UK

A group of 14 Zimbabweans accused of ‘despicable crimes’ yesterday returned home on a charter flight from the UK. The UK Home Office described the transfer as ‘a landmark and historic agreement to return foreign national offenders’. A report on the News24 site notes that Home Secretary Priti Patel said the Zimbabweans ‘committed murder, rape and other despicable crimes’. Last-minute legal challenges against the deportations delayed the removal of many among the 50 scheduled to be on the first flight. Up to 150 Zimbabwean nationals are being held in detention centres awaiting removal from the UK.