ENGLAND - Eleven non-British inmates have absconded from an open jail since the foreign prisoners scandal was revealed a month ago, it emerged.

The escapees, who had convictions for offences including drugs and fraud, all walked out of Ford open prison in Sussex after May 1. Nine of them have fled in the last week and the chief executive of the Prison Service said he did not know how many had been recaptured.

Fearing more escapes the Prison Service, backed by police officers, moved the remaining 141 foreign prisoners at Ford to closed jails.

But opposition MPs said it was "extraordinary" that foreign prisoners had been allowed to remain in open jails after the Government recently announced its intention to deport the vast majority of them.

There were also concerns over the reaction of the 267 foreign prisoners remaining in other open prisons.

The Prison Service said there were no plans to move the foreign prisoners in those jails and none had absconded this month.

The revelation that foreign prisoners have been cutting and running from Ford is the latest headache for tough talking Home Secretary John Reid.

It was admitted by the Home Office on April 26 that more than 1,000 foreign criminals - many dangerous - had been released between 1999 and March 2006 without being considered for deportation.

On May 17 Prime Minister Tony Blair said there should be a presumption of automatic deportation in the "vast bulk" of such cases.

And earlier this week Dr Reid set a deadline of 100 days to sort out the system that had failed to deport the foreign prisoners, vowing to do "whatever it takes" to make the public feel safe.