It’s not illegal to deport criminals with families

DEPORTING foreign criminals who have British families is legal, senior judges have confirmed.

The Supreme Court ruling is a major victory for Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

A Nigerian fraudster and a Jamaican drug dealer had claimed throwing them out of the country breached Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights – which safeguards family life.

But a panel of five judges dismissed their appeals, insisting that orders to deport them were not unlawful.

Tory MP Philip Hollobone said: ‘At long last it looks as if the court system has drawn a line limiting the extent to which offenders from overseas can exploit human rights laws. It means that they will have less opportunity to hide behind their children.’ In the first case, the Nigerian fraudster was jailed for 20 months for conspiracy to defraud. He should have been removed from the country once he had served his sentence.

But he argued that kicking him out would be ‘harsh’ on his step-daughter and four children. However, the court said the public interest in his deportation outweighed the effect on his children.

In the second case, a Jamaican was married to a British woman and had a son who has special needs. In 2009, he was jailed for 42 months for dealing Class A drugs. He was deported in 2010 but challenged the order on the grounds that it was unfair on his son.

But judges said the Home Office was right not to revoke the order to remove him, ruling it was not ‘unduly harsh’.

‘Can’t hide behind children’