MONMOUTH MP David Davies has reiterated calls to change “scandalous” legislation and force prisoners to hand over any compensation they may receive to their victims.

The Conservative politician had written to former Justice Secretary Michael Gove in December 2015 and demanded a change in rules that allow violent offenders to keep the cash they win.

He suggested that payouts funded by the taxpayer should be placed in so-called “escrow” accounts which are handled by a third party. Prisoners would then have to contact all those affected by their crime and give them the chance to countersue for damages and legal costs.

The debate has been reignited after Mr Davies learned that Khalid Belfken, an illegal immigrant from Morocco, was awarded £40,000 from the Home Office for unlawful detention.

Since arriving in Britain in 2005 aged 15, Belfken has committed more than 40 offences ranging from thefts and burglaries, to possessing offensive weapons and attacking police officers.

The High Court payout is the second time Belfken has been awarded substantial damages after he was mistakenly locked up for too long.

“This is merely the latest scandalous example of criminals receiving lottery-style compensation payments which their victims can only dream of,” he said. “Two years ago, I met with justice ministers to outline a simple plan that would put an end to this monstrous abuse of our legal system.

“If prisoners are awarded compensation for any reason, the money should be kept in a third party account for a long enough period to allow all of their victims to be contacted and allowed to countersue.

“If this were to have happened in Belfken’s case,the money would have ended up in the pockets of the homeowners he burgled and the police officers he injured.”

The knowledge that they would gain no personal benefit might also deter some criminals from making compensation claims in the first place, Mr Davies argued.