Overseas convicts will be paid to leave UK

LONDON - Foreign criminals are to be offered financial incentives worth up to £2500 ($7081) to return home as part of a package of emergency measures to tackle a prison overcrowding crisis in Britain.

Police cells will also be used for newly sentenced offenders from tomorrow, a disused Army barracks will be rapidly converted into prison accommodation and hundreds of inmates will be transferred to immigration detention centres.

John Reid, the Home Secretary, announced the drastic plans as the prison population in England and Wales reached 79,819, just 234 below capacity. On current trends, the country's jails could officially be full by the end of the week.

The British government believes slashing the numbers of foreigners in jail is the key to easing the pressure on the prison system.

- INDEPENDENT