Judge who let knife-wielding migrant stay in UK was on asylum seeker charity board

Telegraph

a day ago

A judge who allowed a migrant convicted for drug dealing and sexual assault to stay in the UK is a former executive of a pro-asylum charity, it has been revealed.
Judge Fiona Beach ruled that Christian Quadjovie was not a threat to the British public at a hearing last year.
French-born Quadjovie has spent a total of 963 days behind bars in UK prisons since arriving in Britain at the age of 10.
Quadjovie, who was set to be deported, was granted a reprieve by Judge Beach, an ex-director at Asylum Aid who represented migrants for free on behalf of the Bail for Immigration Detainees charity.
The decision has since been overturned after government lawyers claimed her judgment was 'made against the weight of evidence'.
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said Judge Beach's apparent conflict of interest 'undermines confidence' in the courts.
'Judges must be independent'
He added: 'This is the latest example of an immigration judge with open borders views.
'The similarity between her decisions and the political views she has broadcast totally undermines confidence in the system. Judges must be independent.'
Records show Judge Beach was a director of Asylum Aid between September 2004 and February 2007. She is understood to have stepped back from the group in December 2006 when appointed as a part-time judge.
Quadjovie's case was first brought before her in April 2024. He was first convicted as a boy of 12 for sexually assaulting a girl under 13.
In 2016, he was given a nine-month referral order for carrying a knife in public.
Later that year, he was convicted of drug offences. He was detained for 30 months and caught with more drugs after his release.
The Home Office tried to deport him, but he argued that he would not be able to reintegrate in France.
Judge Beach's stated in the tribunal decision: 'The appellant had some support in the UK in the form of family support, potential access to education and public funds and access to housing assistance, yet found himself involved with gangs and drug dealing.
'The concern would be whether the appellant would slip back into the same way of earning money which he did in the UK, i.e. drug dealing.
'There is a real risk that this would occur again as a young man in France with few ties, no accommodation, no qualifications other than a GCSE in French and no employment experience on which to rely.'
'Not a serious threat to public security'
The decision concluded: 'Taking account of all the evidence, I find that the evidence does not show that the appellant is a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat to public policy or public security.'
However, in October, Home Office lawyers said Ms Beach's judgment was made 'against the weight of evidence' and has since been overturned.
A spokesman for the judiciary said: 'In each case, judges make decisions based on the evidence and arguments presented, and apply the law as it stands.'
In a letter, seen by the Sun on Sunday, Mr Jenrick made a formal request to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office to probe whether Judge Beach had declared her previous roles.
In an interview with The Telegraph last week, Mr Jenrick said it was time to sack what he called 'activist' judges.
He said: 'If judges want to enter the political sphere themselves, then they should stop being judges and go into politics.
'We have to have a situation where judges who act politically and bring their own personal politics into their job as a judge are held to account and frankly, can be removed.'