Home Office ordered to halt deportation to Jamaica

THE Court of Appeal last night ordered the Home Office to halt the deportation of dozens of convicted criminals to Jamaica after ruling they had insufficient access to legal advice.

Around 50 people had been due to be sent to the Caribbean on a 6.30am flight this morning, but campaigners had argued that they should be allowed to remain in the UK pending a review into the Windrush scandal.

Ministers had said that they were simply pursuing a policy of deporting foreign national criminals, some of whom had committed serious offences such as rape and manslaughter, but campaigners said some had lived in the UK since they were children and should be regarded as British citizens.

Lady Justice Simler granted an injunction after an urgent application by the charity Detention Action.

It said that a problem with an O2 phone mast near two detention centres meant detainees did not have functioning mobile phones, denying them full access to their lawyers.

The judge ruled that unless the Home Office proved that detainees had access to a fully working non-o2 mobile phone on or before Feb 3 it could not put them on the flight.

The Home Office had argued that the detainees had access to landlines, the internet, emails and fax machines and that alternative SIM cards were provided to them on request. They could also arrange visits from their lawyers.

Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, said she believed the ruling meant no one could be removed on this morning’s flight, and that the ruling applied to at least 56 people.

The Home Office insisted the flight would still go ahead but could not say how many people would be on it.