Illegal immigrants are getting the VIP treatment when removed from the UK - with security escorts costing almost £500 for each deportee.

Taxpayers are forking out millions on private guards to deport migrants back to their own countries on chartered jets.

Figures show the Government spent £10.43 million to "forcibly" remove 21,360 illegal immigrants and failed asylum seekers in 2008.
¬Using trained escorts is crucial ¬
That works out at £488 per person - about the same as the daily rate for VIP protection by a professional bodyguard.

A Government source said "Commercial security firms are raking in a fortune.

"The Government does not have the resources to use police or officials to keep order on these flights, so the work is outsourced to private companies instead. It's a licence to print money."

The figures also show that the bill per deportee was up from £440 in 2007 - a rise of 11 per cent.

Security guards on the deportation flights are all from private firms, with no security presence on board from the Government's Border and Immigration Agency.

Last night the Taxpayers' Alliance said "A lot of people will wonder why we can't use any of the armies of Government officials for these flights.

"Why do we need to outsource when we already have police, immigration officials and others who could do the job just as well?"

Border and Immigration minister Phil Woolas said "Using trained escorts is crucial if we are going to remove foreign criminals or disruptive individuals.

"Without them we would not have removed thousands of lawbreakers last year.

"We have toughened our border, stopping people before they reach the UK, as well as processing asylum claims faster than ever - which means the overall cost of the system is going down."

The Sun told last month how a deportation flight was axed after a bungled security operation, costing taxpayers £250,000.

About 60 Jamaican detainees arrived so late at Heathrow that the flight was cancelled. They were eventually deported the next day.