Foreign prisoners could be deported immediately upon conviction in bid to free up jails

The review will recommend that the existing 'early removal scheme', which currently allows foreign offenders to be deported after serving 50 per cent of their sentence, should be brought forward to the 30 per cent point.

It will also propose that foreign criminals handed sentences of less than three years should be immediately deported "as soon as operationally possible" rather than serving time in British prisons.

Combined with the additional early release scheme launched by Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood last year, these changes would mean some foreign prisoners would serve just 12 per cent of their sentence before deportation.

For example, a criminal jailed for five years could be deported after only seven months if they were eligible for both schemes.

Foreign nationals make up 12 per cent of the total prison population in England and Wales, with each prisoner costing nearly £54,000 a year on average. This means approximately £540million of taxpayers' money is spent annually on imprisoning foreign criminals.

The Telegraph reports there are 10,800 foreign prisoners, representing one in eight of all inmates, at a cost to taxpayers of £580million per year.

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Gauke said: "There is no place in our society for criminals who come to this country and break our laws, but it is clear the current system for deporting foreign criminals is not working - and the taxpayer is footing the bill."

He added that the changes would "free up valuable space in prison, save the taxpayer money and ultimately protect the public."

Current laws mean a deportation order can only be made if a foreign offender has received a prison sentence of 12 months or more.

Those handed less than 12 months can be deported only if they have caused serious harm, are persistent offenders or represent a threat to national security.

The review's proposals could apply to foreign criminals convicted of multiple domestic burglary, assault or drug offences.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has already begun examining how Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights - the 'right to private and family life' - is used in immigration legal challenges, including deportation cases.

However, it remains unclear whether Gauke's review will address how officials can navigate around the Human Rights Act when deporting foreign criminals.