A recent Freedom of Information request reveals the number of times the Home Secretary has deprived British citizens of their citizenship over the last ten years as well as the breakdown of reasons.
The raw numbers were as follows:
| Year | Total |
2006 | > 5 |
2007 | 0 |
2008 | 0 |
2009 | > 5 |
2010 | > 5 |
2011 | 6 |
2012 | 6 |
2013 | 18 |
2014 | 23 |
2015 | 19 |
| Total | 81 |
There were two separate legal powers used to effect these derivations. The first was section 40(2) of the British Nationality Act 1981, which permits deprivatation where the Secretary of State “is satisfied that deprivation is conducive to the public good.”
The second was section 40(3) of the British Nationality Act 1981, which permits deprivatation where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the registration or naturalisation was obtained by means of—
(a) fraud,
(b) false representation, or
(c) concealment of a material fact.
The totals were as follows:
| Section 40(2) | Section 40(3) | Total |
36 | 45 | 81 |
Given there were basically no citizenship deprivatations prior to 2002 we can see that use of the power has dramatically increased in recent years.
