The UK High Court has quashed a Home Office policy which allows for the swift deportation of foreign nationals refused permission to remain in Britain, saying it was unlawful.
The court ruled that the policy, introduced in 2007 but widened earlier this year, meant those affected had “little or no notice” of removal and so were deprived of access to justice.
The Border Agency’s general policy allows 72 hours notice of removal, but this can be reduced to little or none at all for people in certain categories, such as those believed to be at risk of self-harm or unaccompanied children who might abscond because they cannot be detained.
The case was brought by Medical Justice, a body which provides independent medical and legal advice to detainees in immigration removal centers.
It argued that this “exceptions policy” was being used to swoop late at night and escort people to flights leaving only a few hours later, depriving them of the ability to contact lawyers and launch a last-ditch challenge.
The Home Office argued that its policy was “sufficiently flexible” to ensure there were no human rights breaches and that detainees were given as much notice as possible while safeguards had also been put in place.
But judge Justice Silber rejected that argument, the Press Association reported.
“The policy is unlawful and must be quashed,” he said.
However, he did allow the Home Office permission to appeal against his decision, saying the case raised issues of importance for the general public, including the constitutional right of access to justice.
A Home Office spokesman said they were disappointed with the verdict and would appeal.
“The policy of making limited exceptions in special circumstances to 72-hour notification of immigration removal has been an important element of our management of removals,” he said. “The government remains committed to removing individuals with no right to be in the UK as quickly as possible.”
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
‘WATER WARFARE’: A Pakistani official called India’s suspension of a 65-year-old treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus River ‘a cowardly, illegal move’ Pakistan yesterday canceled visas for Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or operated airlines, and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country. The retaliatory measures follow India’s decision to suspend visas for Pakistani nationals in the aftermath of a deadly attack by shooters in Kashmir that killed 26 people, mostly tourists. The rare attack on civilians shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their country’s archenemy, Pakistan. New Delhi did not publicly produce evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had “cross-border” links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
Armed with 4,000 eggs and a truckload of sugar and cream, French pastry chefs on Wednesday completed a 121.8m-long strawberry cake that they have claimed is the world’s longest ever made. Youssef El Gatou brought together 20 chefs to make the 1.2 tonne masterpiece that took a week to complete and was set out on tables in an ice rink in the Paris suburb town of Argenteuil for residents to inspect. The effort overtook a 100.48m-long strawberry cake made in the Italian town of San Mauro Torinese in 2019. El Gatou’s cake also used 350kg of strawberries, 150kg of sugar and 415kg of
RSS