PM fast tracks judicial review reform after Jamaica ‘farce’

BORIS JOHNSON is set to speed up reforms of the judicial review process after the “farce” over the blocked deportation of 25 “serious” criminals to Jamaica.

Downing Street said the way lawyers had used judicial reviews to block the deportation of the criminals – including a killer, seven violent offenders, rapists and drug dealers – due to a broken O2 phone mast showed why the reforms were needed.

A flight bound for Kingston yesterday morning was left half empty with just 17 Jamaican nationals on board after a judge ruled that the faulty mast had denied the additional 25 offenders mobile phone access to lawyers, enabling them to stay in the UK pending a Home Office appeal.

Downing Street said it “bitterly regretted” the Court of Appeal decision, adding: “The legal process for removing these offenders, which has included repeated appeals and judicial reviews, has already cost the British public tens of thousands of pounds.

“The taxpayer will now be left with an even bigger bill and the prospect of convicts who are considered to pose a threat to the UK being granted bail while this matter is resolved.”

No10 said it made “no apology for trying to protect the public from serious, violent and persistent foreign national offenders” and claimed detainees had “ample access” to other methods of communication, including free Sim cards on request, landlines and face-toface legal surgeries.

Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s chief adviser, said there must be “urgent action on the farce that judicial review has become” following the Court of Appeal decision.

It comes as the Government faces the prospect of a legal challenge over its ending of early release for jailed terrorists from top London solicitors Hodge Jones & Allen, who are considering bringing a judicial review on behalf of a jailed extremist.

The Conservative manifesto promised to examine the judicial review process to ensure it is “not abused” for political reasons.

However, Labour challenged the Government in Parliament over allowing the flight to take off before the findings of the review into the Windrush scandal have been published.

The Government’s pledge sets up a major clash with the legal profession.

Amanda Pinto, chair of the Bar Council, said: “Far from being a mark of dysfunction, judicial review is an appropriate check on decision making, of which a nation should be proud.”

Caroline Goodwin QC, of the Criminal Bar Association, added: “Judicial review is a process to keep a check on authorities acting beyond the legal remit that may have been granted to them by the law, thus playing a part to ensure the law applies equally to

‘The taxpayer will now be left with an even bigger bill and the prospect of convicts being granted bail’

everyone; this is what the rule of law means.”

The 17 criminals who were deported had combined jail sentences of at least 75 years, the Home Office said. One had a sentence of less than 12 months – the normal bar for deportation – but officials said he had 24 convictions for 33 offences, which justified his removal as a “persistent offender”.

Two of the offenders were convicted for rape, one for violent assault, another for wounding with intent, three for robbery, and others for crimes including firearms possession, burglary, violence and drug dealing.

The 25 allowed to stay subject to the appeal included one for manslaughter, two for rape, seven for violence, one for firearms offences and 14 for drugs.

An estimated 50 people were originally expected to be on the deportation flight that left the UK at about 7.30am yesterday. A further eight were last night being reviewed after fresh legal representations.