The father, was detained and separated from his 3 year old daughter who was in care. The Family Court ordered that she should be reunited with him but if he was not released in time, she should be adopted. The Home Office refused to release him, transferred him to a detention centre miles away so he could not see her, and opposed his applications for bail. He was finally released after 3 months, days away from his daughter being adopted. The Claimants’ identities are protected by order of the Court and known as AJS (father) and AJU (daughter).
In a Court order approved today the Home Office finally admitted that they had detained AJS unlawfully throughout the detention, and agreed to pay the Claimants £50,000 in damages.
Janet Farrell acts for the Claimants, she commented
“The litany of unlawful conduct in this case and how close this child came to the catastrophic outcome of adoption is truly shocking. The duty to treat the best interests of children as a primary consideration is too often subjugated to the perceived need to be tough on immigration, with devastating effects on the welfare of children and parents alike. We would urge the Home Office to take this opportunity to urgently review their practices and put corrective measures in place in order to protect families in the future.”
Read the approved Order and Statement of Reasons is here.
Our press release is here. See further coverage on the Guardian’s website here.
Janet Farrell acts with Stephanie Harrison QC, and Shu Shin Luh of Garden Court Chambers.
