Numerous migrants have been convicted of serious crimes in December, including violent sexual assaults, attempted murder and attempted kidnapping.

The slew of convictions have sparked renewed concerns over the UK's border security, and the vetting of those entering the country.

Alp Mehmet, chairman of Migration Watch, said: "How much more evidence do ministers and the migrants' rights industry need before accepting that our asylum system is not fit for purpose?"

He added: "It rolls out the welcome mat while turning a blind eye to dangerous criminals who waltz into Britain in their thousands. Every crime they commit ruins lives."

Mr Mehmet said: "The only way to protect the British public and make the country safer is to stop these vile men from entering the country in the first place."

Among the most serious cases this month include asylum seeker Amer Mohammed, 24, from Eritrea, who was sentenced to nine years in prison on 18 December after violently sexually assaulting a woman in Margate, Kent.

Also included in the grim statistics is the convicted terrorist, Rebwar Hamad, 48, from Iraq, who was sentenced to more than two years in jail on Friday, December 5, after he illegally entered the country via a small boat.

He was extradited to Italy, from the UK, after being convicted of terror offences there, before attempting to re-enter Britain again.

Speaking at the time, Peter Cockrill from the Crown Prosecution Service said that Hamad "showed a blatant disregard for immigration rules".

Adam Ahmed, a 30-year-old Sudanese migrant, was convicted of attempted murder this month after stabbing two of his neighbours, following a row over loud music. A court heard he had not shown a "trace of emotion" when he attacked one of them by driving a knife into the side of their neck. He will be sentenced on 30 January 2026, after the preparation of pre-sentence reports.

Another Sudanese migrant, Abdulmawal Ibrahim Adam, 28, was sentenced for four years on December 12 after attempting to kidnap a teenage girl. Footage from the scene shows him attempting to drag his victim across the road, before he was chased off by passengers in a passing bus.

Nasratullah Wahidi, 20, from Afghanistan, who entered the country with his family legally in 2020, was sentenced to three years behind bars on Monday, December 15 after he attacked a family of five and strangled a pregnant woman in Weymouth, Dorset.

Two Afghan asylum seekers, Jan Jahanzeb, 17, and Israr Niazal, 17, were also jailed for ten years and eight months, and nine years and ten months respectively, on December 8, after they confessed to raping a 15-year-old girl in Leamington Spa in what local police called a "hugely traumatic incident". Warwickshire Police said that the offenders "went out of their way to befriend the victim with the intention of raping her".

Two burglars, Rahmat Khan Mohammadi, 23, and Mohammed Bilal Hotak, 27, both from Afghanistan were convicted just before Christmas. They were part of an organised crime group that made use of the dating app Grindr to trick people into allowing them into their homes. They were both jailed on Monday, December 22; Mohammadi for five years and Hotak for three-and-a-half.

They made off with £68,000 worth of items over a six-month spree in London.

Other convictions this month included Hawre Mohamed, 27, from Iraq, who was sentenced to eight months on Monday, December 8 after he sexually assaulted a woman on a train in the South East.

Chret Callender, 28, from Trinidad, a failed asylum seeker, was convicted of raping a woman in her own home in Bournemouth. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in January.

Additional convictions included cases of theft from retailers in London, including Munir Ghilas, 28, from Algeria, who was convicted of stealing £20,000 worth of items over a two-month spree. He will remain in custody ahead of sentencing on January 13.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We will not allow foreign criminals and illegal migrants to exploit our laws. We are reforming human rights laws and replacing the broken appeals system so we can scale up deportations.

"The Home Secretary has recently announced sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration. They will make Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and will make it easier to remove and deport them.

"All Foreign National Offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity."