Third of granted asylum claims are deemed ‘exceptional' by judges

Times

2 days ago

Judges are granting 'exceptional' asylum claims in a third of cases, it has been revealed, after murderers and paedophiles were allowed to stay in Britain due to their right to a family life.
Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, said the 'system around family migration has become so complex' that courts were now applying human rights guarantees to a 'much broader proportion' of claims.
She said: 'The proportion of decisions being taken as exceptional — often under interpretations around the [European Convention on Human Rights], around Article 8 — end up being about 30 per cent of the cases. That is not exceptional, that is a much broader proportion.'
Among those using Article 8 of the convention to stay in Britain in recent months were a paedophile convicted of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter and an Albanian wanted for murder in his home country.
Cooper said the government would instead bring in 'a clear framework set out by parliament that then can be much easier for the courts to interpret'.
Plans to tighten the rules around exceptional circumstances were revealed last month in the government's immigration white paper but it is the first time the home secretary has revealed how many cases hinged on the rule.
The Times previously reported on an Albanian burglar who snuck back into the UK after being deported winning his case to remain by invoking Article 8. In March, judges decided that another Albanian criminal jailed for more than three years for running a cannabis factory would not be deported as it would deprive his daughter of a 'male role model'.
In another case, a woman's deportation to Grenada was delayed after she argued that her husband did not like Caribbean food and would struggle with the heat.
Ministers announced changes last month that would prevent judges blocking the Home Office from deporting foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers. The government will provide judges with a tighter legal definition of what constitutes 'exceptional circumstances' when deciding whether to overturn Home Office decisions to deport foreign criminals or reject an asylum seeker's application.
Multiple countries have launched a fresh push for reform of the ECHR amid concerns the European Court is extending its interpretation of the convention too far, such as in its last-minute injunction to block the UK government from deporting migrants to Rwanda in June 2022.
Nine European leaders wrote an open letter calling for 'a new and open-minded conversation' about the interpretation of the ECHR. They called for the 46 signatories of the ECHR to back plans to 'restore the right balance' between human rights and the nations' ability to control immigration.
Britain was not among the countries calling for reform, despite Lord Hermer, the attorney general, signalling that the government was open to change. Instead it was signed by the leaders of Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Cooper told the home affairs select committee that remaining in international agreements such as the ECHR had led to Britain being able to reach deals with Germany and France to help tackle illegal immigration. However, she added: 'We also need to look at the way in which laws are being interpreted. So, as we put in the immigration white paper, there are areas, for example, where the system around family migration has become so complex.'
Critics of the ECHR have warned that it is being increasingly exploited by migrants who wish to stay in Britain. In other cases, a Gazan family was granted the right to live in the UK after applying through the Ukraine Family Scheme. Their application was initially rejected but their appeal was granted after the judge concluded that the decision interfered with their right to a family life.
In another instance, an Albanian criminal's deportation from Britain was halted over his son's distaste for foreign chicken nuggets. An immigration tribunal ruled that it would be 'unduly harsh' for the ten-year-old boy to be forced to move to Albania with his father due to his picky eating, according to court documents quoted by the Daily Telegraph. The judge allowed the father's appeal against deportation as a breach of his right to a family life under the ECHR, citing the impact his removal might have on the son.
Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, has previously said he wanted to ensure the 'right balance' was struck in migration cases in relation to the national interest. 'There's a balance set out in legislation already that needs to be adjusted, in my view, and that's what we will do,' he said.
However, he also said he did not think it was necessary to leave the ECHR to continue a crackdown on immigration, as being signed up to international agreements provided a basis for deals with other countries on migration.