Prison population will continue to grow unless we leave the European Union with numbers of foreign criminals soaring 20 fold, an MP has warned. In 2002 there were 46 Polish and 50 Romanians in UK prisons, but now figures stand at 983 and 635. Shipley MP Philip Davies said the same was true across many EU countries particularly Eastern Europe. He said: “If Government wants to reduce the prison population wouldn’t it be a good idea to stop free movement of people which has become rather free movement of criminals into the UK so we do not have these criminals coming into the UK in the first place that are sent to prison?” He made the comment in Parliament during Justice Questions. Mr Davies, the first MP to call for Britain to leave the UK in 2006, added: “Closing our borders would stop foreign criminals coming into Britain and putting innocent people at risk of crime. Leaving the EU would also free up many spaces in our prisons so we can keep criminals who should be behind bars where they belong and not let them out after serving a measly portion of their sentence.” Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who is also campaigning for a Leave result next week, said: “I remind people on June 23 there will be an opportunity for people to cast their vote.”