When does a crime cause “serious harm”? Court of Appeal considers the application of Article 8 to foreign national offenders – UK Human Rights Blog

‘This judgment concerns the definition of “an offence that has caused serious harm” for the purpose of an appeal against deportation on private and family life grounds under Article 8. In this set of cases, the Court of Appeal took a broad view as to the meaning of this provision, but also held that there must be evidence that the offender has actually caused serious harm.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th June 2020

Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com

Supreme Court refuses damages to refugee wrongly prosecuted for illegal entry – Free Movement

‘Shortly after Christmas in 2009, a young woman from Somalia flew into Stansted and claimed asylum. She had just turned 18. As later accepted by the Home Office, she had experienced severe depredations in her home country. This included her rape at the age of six in the presence of her disabled mother, and the murder of both of her parents. She fled Somalia in 2008, initially to Yemen, where she spent the next year. She was eventually able to fly to Europe with the help of an agent, who provided a British passport to facilitate her entry into the UK.’

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Free Movement, 26th April 2017

Source: www.freemovement.org.uk

Syrian’s conviction for using false passport in asylum claim quashed – The Guardian

Posted October 14th, 2016 in appeals, asylum, news, possession of false identity documents by sally

‘A Syrian refugee has successfully appealed against his conviction for using false documents to claim asylum in the UK after spending six months in prison.’

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The Guardian, 13th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Regina v Boateng – WLR Daily

Regina v Boateng; [2016] EWCA Crim 57

‘The defendant. a Ghanaian national, held a non-European Union passport. His wife, also a Ghanaian national, assumed the identity of a deceased Ghanaian national, who had had Dutch citizenship, and obtained a Dutch identification card and a Dutch passport under that false identity. The defendant and his wife had an infant daughter. On the false premise that he and the daughter were entitled to reside in the United Kingdom by virtue of his wife’s falsely assumed status as a European Union national, the defendant obtained residence cards, each in the form of a Home Office stamp in a non-European Union passport, for himself and the daughter. On three occasions the defendant used his passport, containing the residence card stamp, to enter the United Kingdom, and on one occasion he used it to open a bank account in there. The defendant and his wife were charged with various immigration and documentation offences. The defendant pleaded guilty to eight counts, charged as follows: (i) seeking or obtaining leave to enter or remain in the UK by the deception of applying to the Home Office for a residence card for himself (count 2) and for a certificate of naturalisation (count 12), contrary to section 24A(1)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971; (ii) facilitating the commission of a breach of section 10(1)(c) of the “Immigration Act 1999” by obtaining leave for his daughter to enter or remain in the UK by the deception of applying to the Home Office for a residence card for her, contrary to section 25(1) of the 1971 Act (count 3); (iii) possessing false identity documents with intent, contrary to section 25(1) of the Identity Cards Act 2006 (counts 4 to 7); and (iv) being in possession or control with intent of an identity document, namely a British passport in his own name that he knew or believed to have been improperly obtained in February 2012, contrary to section 4 of the Identity Documents Act 2010 (count 13).’

WLR Daily, 16th March 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Barrister who lied to secure pupillage disbarred – Legal Futures

‘A barrister who gained a pupillage by lying about her age, faking references and falsely claiming she had been an assistant district attorney in New York has been disbarred.’

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Legal Futures, 14th March 2016

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Man sentenced after invoice for $28m of ammunition was found on his mobile phone – Crown Prosecution Service

‘Abdurraouf Eshati, aged 29, from Wrexham was sentenced for terrorism and immigration offences today at the Old Bailey, Eshati received a six year prison sentence after he pleaded guilty yesterday at court.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 27th October 2015

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Fake locum doctor sentenced – Crown Prosecution Service

‘A man who pretended to be a qualified doctor has been sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court to six years in prison.’

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Crown Prosecution Service, 17th July 2015

Source: www.cps.gov.uk

Air steward jailed for five years over smuggling fake passports in underwear – The Guardian

‘An airline steward who tried to smuggle fake passports by hiding them in a pair of specially adapted underpants has been jailed for five years.’
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The Guardian, 19th May 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Illegal immigrant sex offender wins compensation – Daily Telegraph

‘Naseer Chawki, who was jailed for “revolting” sex crimes on a train, is in line for thousands of pounds after a judge ruled he had been unlawfully detained after completing a jail sentence.’

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Daily Telegraph, 31st March 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Paralysed Tinsley House detainee sues for damages – BBC News

“A man who broke his spine when he deliberately ran into a brick wall while in detention awaiting deportation is suing for damages.”

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BBC News, 13th November 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Syrian refugee jailed in UK for using false papers – The Guardian

“Campaigners say conviction of asylum seeker for using fake papers and similar cases is abuse of immigration law.”

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The Guardian, 24th August 2013

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Lawyers of refugees who were wrongly jailed criticised by Appeal Court – The Independent

“The Appeal Court has criticised the lawyers of five refugees who were wrongly jailed for carrying false documents after fleeing their countries under the threat of persecution.”

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The Independent, 30th July 2013

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Childless couple jailed over baby smuggled from Africa – Daily Telegraph

Posted February 4th, 2013 in child abduction, news, possession of false identity documents by tracey

“A childless couple who desperately tried to start a family for more than a
decade have been jailed for smuggling in a baby from Africa.”

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Daily Telegraph, 4th February 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina v Jaddi – WLR Daily

Posted November 28th, 2012 in appeals, asylum, fraud, law reports, possession of false identity documents by sally

Regina v Jaddi [2012] WLR (D) 347

“Where the questions of whether an asylum seeker had come to the United Kingdom directly from a country where his life had been threatened after staying in Italy for a few days and whether he had made a claim for asylum as soon as reasonably practicable in the United Kingdom had not been fully investigated by immigration control after false identity documents were presented, the defence under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 should have been made available to him and the facts were for the jury to decide.”

WLR Daily, 22nd November 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Bogus blogger who posed as Met police officer jailed – The Independent

Posted September 7th, 2012 in fraud, news, possession of false identity documents, sentencing by tracey

“A fantasist who blogged about his experiences as a police officer during last summer’s London riots was today jailed for five years.”

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The Independent, 7th September 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Gang jailed over multi-million identity fraud – The Independent

“Members of a multi-million pound organised crime gang specialising in providing fake identities and documents to thousands of customers were jailed today.”

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The Independent, 9th June 2012

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Psychologist faked death after using benefits scam to pay for wife’s breast job – Daily Telegraph

Posted March 9th, 2012 in benefits, fraud, news, possession of false identity documents, sentencing by tracey

“A benefits cheat, Stephen Kellaway, who faked his own death to avoid prosecution after stealing thousands to pay for his wife’s breast enlargement has been jailed.”

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Daily Telegraph, 9th March 2012

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Pensioner faked death in Central America for life insurance payout – Daily Telegraph

Posted September 30th, 2011 in fraud, insurance, news, possession of false identity documents, theft by tracey

“A pensioner was jailed for six years today after he admitted faking his own death in Central America to try to pocket a £520,000 life insurance payout.”

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Daily Telegraph. 30th September 2011

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina v Unah – WLR Daily

Posted July 14th, 2011 in defences, law reports, possession of false identity documents by tracey

Regina v Unah [2011] WLR (D)  225

“Where a defendant sought to rely on the defence of ‘reasonable excuse’ for the purposes of the offence of possessing a false identity document, contrary to section 25(5) of the Identity Cards Act 2006, the fact that the defendant did not know or believe that the document was false was not of itself a reasonable excuse. However, a defendant was entitled to ask the jury to consider objectively whether he had a reasonable excuse for possessing the material, and the fact that he did not know or believe that it was a false document, because of the circumstances in which it had been obtained, might well have a bearing on that question.”

WLR Daily, 12th July 2011

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Identity theft gang jailed – Home Office

“Eight members of an organised crime group have been sent to jail for more than 24 years for their part in large scale identity fraud and money laundering which resulted in the loss of millions of pounds.”

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Home Office, 24th May 2011

Source: www.homeoffice.gov.uk