Home Office challenged over ‘sped-up’ removal of Vietnamese nationals – The Guardian

‘Lawyers are challenging the Home Office policy of deporting people to Vietnam who could be victims of trafficking after the UK sent a second charter flight to the country within a matter of weeks.’

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The Guardian, 1st August 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Napier barracks conditions held not to meet minimum standards – UK Human Rights Blog

‘In R (NB & Others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] EWHC 1489 (Admin), the High Court ruled that the treatment of asylum seekers at Napier military barracks did not meet minimum legal standards, that the process for allocating asylum seekers to accommodation centres was flawed and unlawful and that the six claimants had been falsely imprisoned during the “inevitable” Covid-19 outbreak. David Manknell of 1 COR was junior counsel to the SSHD.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 28th July 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

More than 50 died in Home Office asylum seeker accommodation in past five years – The Guardian

‘More than 50 people have died in Home Office asylum seeker accommodation in the last five years, with the number increasing steeply over the past 18 months, the Guardian has learned.’

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The Guardian, 25th July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Supreme Court dismisses solitary confinement appeal – UK Human Rights Blog

‘The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an appeal which considered whether treatment throughout a 55 day period in solitary confinement of a then 15-year-old appellant in Feltham Young Offenders’ Institution constituted a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 22nd July 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Legal bids mean UK deportation flight to Zimbabwe takes off just one-third full – The Guardian

‘A controversial Home Office deportation charter flight to Zimbabwe took off at about 10.30pm on Wednesday evening with only around one-third of the passengers on board that officials had hoped to remove.’

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The Guardian, 22nd July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Zimbabwean nationals with British children rounded up for deportation – The Independent

‘Zimbabwean nationals who have been in the UK for decades and have British children are being rounded up for removal on a charter flight to Harare next week, The Independent can reveal.’

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The Independent, 15th July 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office forced to pay out £9.3m in compensation for over 300 cases of unlawful detention last year – The Independent

‘The Home Office was forced to pay out a record in compensation for wrongful detention under immigration powers last year.’

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The Independent, 10th July 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office ‘acting unlawfully’ in rush to deport asylum seekers – The Guardian

‘Hundreds of people arriving in England in small boats are being immediately detained in immigration removal centres, raising fears of a new, secret Home Office policy to deport them without their asylum claims being properly considered.’

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The Guardian, 11th July 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Ministers remove children from private youth jail after American contractor fails to fix ‘serious’ flaws – The Independent

Posted June 18th, 2021 in children, detention, Ministry of Justice, news, prisons, young offenders by tracey

‘The UK government is removing all children from a troubled jail for youths run by an American company after some were locked in their rooms for more than 23 hours a day.’

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The Independent, 17th June 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Napier Barracks: Housing migrants at barracks unlawful, court rules – BBC News

‘The Home Office’s decision to house cross-channel migrants in a “squalid” barracks in Folkestone was unlawful, the High Court has ruled.’

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BBC News, 3rd June 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Plans for New Women’s Detention Centre in Durham are Challenged – EIN Blog

Posted May 25th, 2021 in detention, equality, immigration, news, women by sally

‘It has recently been announced that there are plans for the construction of a brand-new women’s immigration detention centre at Hassockfield in Medomsley, County Durham. It is expected that the centre would detain around 80 women, and is the Home Office’s first new centre since 2014.’

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EIN Blog, 24th May 2021

Source: www.ein.org.uk

Dozens of vulnerable asylum seekers wrongly placed in Napier Barracks despite watchdog warnings – The Independent

‘Dozens of asylum seekers have been wrongly placed in Napier Barracks after the Home Office failed to recognise their vulnerabilities, prompting concerns that ministers have ignored warnings from watchdogs.’

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The Independent, 23rd May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office’s rush to deport asylum seekers before Brexit was ‘inhumane’, watchdog finds – The Independent

‘The Home Office’s rush to deport asylum seekers last year ahead of Brexit amounted to “inhumane treatment,” a watchdog has found. In its annual report for 2020, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for the Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) raised concerns around the impact of the government ramping up efforts to remove people arriving on small boats from the UK in the later months of 2020.’

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The Independent, 20th May 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Home Office ordered to move torture victim out of ‘prison-like’ hotel – The Guardian

‘A judge in the high court has ordered the Home Office to move a torture and trafficking victim out of a “prison-like” hotel surrounded by an 8ft wall.’

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The Guardian, 18th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Case Preview: R (Majera) (formerly SM (Rwanda)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department – UKSC Blog

‘On 10 May 2021, the Supreme Court heard the appeal in R (Majera) (formerly SM (Rwanda)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (“SSHD”). The question on appeal is whether a defective order granting immigration bail has legal effect.’

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UKSC Blog, 18th May 2021

Source: ukscblog.com

Torture victims kept in solitary by Home Office for up to a year – The Guardian

‘The Home Office has pursued a policy of psychological brutality by locking up scores of torture survivors in solitary confinement for indefinite periods, according to fresh testimony from immigration detainees.’

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The Guardian, 15th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Windrush scandal: Concern over wait for compensation – BBC News

‘Campaigners say they are concerned about the low number of compensation payments to victims of the Windrush scandal.’

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BBC News, 4th May 2021

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

More trafficking victims facing forcible removal from UK under rule change – The Guardian

‘More victims of trafficking will be locked up in detention and forcibly removed from the UK after MPs approved a change in Home Office rules relating to this vulnerable group, campaigners have warned.’

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The Guardian, 5th May 2021

Source: www.theguardian.com

Immigration removal and an Article 2 inquest – UK Human Rights Blog

‘R (Lawal) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2021), Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), Unreported, JR/626/2020 (V).
The death of an immigration detainee, as with all prisoners, is rightly subject to legal scrutiny. This is because detainees are completely under the state’s control. Article 2 ECHR requires that the state carry out an effective investigation into all deaths in detention where there is a reasonable suspicion that the death was unnatural. A coroner is required to hold an inquest into all deaths in custody, and specifically a jury inquest where there is reason to suspect the death is violent or unnatural. In this case, a two-judge panel of the Upper Tribunal (President of the Upper Tribunal, Mr Justice Lane, and Upper Tribunal Judge Canavan) found that the respondent Home Secretary had breached her Article 2 procedural obligations in respect of deaths in immigration detention. In particular, she had failed to ensure that crucial witness evidence was secured for use at an inquest and had failed to halt the deportation of a relevant witness.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 29th April 2021

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

‘A hugely retrograde step’: Cross-party MPs attack Home Office plans to lock up more trafficking survivors – The Independent

‘Cross-party MPs have attacked Home Office plans that will see more trafficking survivors locked up in immigration detention and threatened with removal, warning that it is a “hugely retrograde step”.’

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The Independent, 29th April 2021

Source: www.independent.co.uk