Romanian killer may win £500,000 over unlawful detention

A ROMANIAN murderer could be paid up to £500,000 in damages by the Government after a court ruled his detention at an immigration centre was unlawful.

The man, known as claimant X, arrived in the UK in 2009 when the Home Office granted him residence as a student.

In November 2014, deportation proceedings began after the Home Office learnt of his murder conviction in Romania.

He was later detained at Dover Immigration Removal Centre, between March and July 2015, which was deemed unlawful by a High Court judge.

Last month’s ruling now means that the convicted murderer could claim compensation for unlawful detention. It is thought the maximum figure he could receive is £500,000.

The Government paid out £4million in 2014-15 to people who had been held unlawfully in immigration detention centres, a freedom of information request by the BBC found earlier this year.

Another freedom of information request by charity Citizens UK found that, between 2012 and 2015, individuals wrongfully detained received sums of up to £155,000 from the Home Office.

Claimant X received a letter that said his criminal record and sentence of 12 years in jail meant he would be deported. It stated: “As a result of your criminality, your deportation is considered to be justified on grounds of public policy and/or public security.

“This is because at Constanta High Court, Romania, you were convicted of murder for which you were sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. The offence you committed is considered to be particularly serious.”

The Government has the right to deport EU citizens if they receive a criminal conviction resulting in a prison term of four years or more.

But according to EU law, previous criminal convictions are not on their own a sufficient reason to deport someone. The person’s behaviour must be a “genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society”.

Claimant X’s lawyers launched a judicial review of both his detention and deportation order, and a British tribunal overturned the deportation order in January this year. Two subsequent appeals by the Home Office were refused, effectively handing claimant X the right to remain in the UK.

High Court judges have now ruled his detention for four months was unlawful. The judge, Mr Justice Paul Walker, concluded the Home Office had failed to prove there was a real risk of reoffending or absconding.