• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

‘Unlawful’ Priti Patel breached human rights, court rules

The High Court ruled that a controversial Home Office policy broke the law and breached the European Convention of Human Rights.

Henry Goodwin by Henry Goodwin
2022-03-26 11:01
in Politics
Home Secretary Priti Patel during a visit to North Yorkshire Police headquarters, Northallerton.

Home Secretary Priti Patel during a visit to North Yorkshire Police headquarters, Northallerton.

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Priti Patel’s secret policy of confiscating asylum seekers’ phones is unlawful, the High Court has ruled.

The Home Office has had a secret policy of seizing phones belonging to asylum seekers who arrive in the UK in small boats, with the phones’ data subsequently being extracted.

Three asylum seekers – known only as HM, KA and MH, one of whom has been recognised as a potential victim of trafficking – filed a judicial review of Patel’s policy at the High Court.

All three had their phones seized between April and September 2020 – without being able to tell their families they had arrived in the UK or having enough time to jot down important phone numbers.

Human rights breach

Lawyers for the claimants said officials threatened them with criminal penalties unless they provided the codes to unlock their phones.

The data stored in the phones was later extracted. Lawyers claim that thousands of others arriving in the UK via clandestine routes, such as across the Channel, have had phones confiscated and data cloned.

The three claimants’ phones were only returned months later, after legal action had started, meaning asylum seekers were unable to contact their families to say they were safe.

RelatedPosts

Labor win presents ‘great opportunity’ in fight to free Julian Assange

‘A rare Murdoch defeat’: Reaction as Scott Morrison accepts defeat in Australian elections

Labor topples Conservatives in Australia as Scott Morrison suffers defeat

Former Tory Party leader calls for benefits to be boosted in line with inflation

Now a court has ruled that the policy was unlawful – and breached human rights and data protection laws.

Privacy International, a top human rights NGO, intervened in the case. It said that Patel had denied the existence of the phone policy, but admitted confiscating them and cloning data that the Home Office still holds.

The home secretary had argued that immigration officials had the right, under the Immigration Act 2016, to search the arrivals by small boat, take their phones and extract their data.

But the High Court ruled the law could not be used to carry out personal searches – adding that the policy also infringes on the right to family and private life enshrined in Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Clare Jennings of Gold Jennings – a solicitor firm that represented one of the claimants – said: “Such systematic extraction of personal data from vulnerable asylum seekers, who were not suspects in any crime, was an astonishing and unparalleled assault on fundamental privacy rights.

“Today’s judgment provided much needed clarification as to the extent of immigration officers’ powers of search and seizure, and confirmed beyond doubt that the home secretary’s policy of seizing all mobile phones from small boat arrivals was unlawful.”

Hostile environment

Daniel Carey of Deighton Pierce Glynn – who represented the other two – said: “All of this had real impacts on very vulnerable people, who lost touch with their families and couldn’t get their asylum documentation, while the phones languished on a shelf for many months, many of which now cannot be returned.

“I am pleased that today’s judgment vindicates our clients and all those affected. It is another example of how the Home Office’s hostile environment policy disregards basic human rights and dignity.”

Lucie Audibert of Privacy International said: “It’s quite clear that the Home Office considered that asylum seekers arriving on UK shores did not have the same privacy rights as other people – it unashamedly granted itself unlawful powers to systematically seize and search their phones, even when they weren’t suspected of any crime.

“This is in line with this government’s (and many others’) efforts to criminalise migration and rob migrants of their basic human rights. We welcome today’s judgment and hope the claimants will obtain due redress for these unacceptable violations of their rights.”

A spokesperson for the Home Office added: “We are considering the judgement and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”

Related: Russian general ‘run over and killed’ by his own mutinous troops

Tags: Priti Patel

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch on the market for £54m

Corbyn’s ‘broadband communism’ plans resurface as govt grapples with stay-at-home learning dilemma

Aha! Alan Partridge filming a new series set to return to BBC One!

UK pet food industry battered by Brexit red tape and border checks

Elevenses: ‘Red-Green Toryism’

Watch flashback – PM would ‘grind’ ID card up is now to restrict voting to people with photo ID

Epstein found dead in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges

Arctic turning green as areas that have been frozen for tens of thousands of years begin to thaw

Son of Kosovan refugees will soon find out if he has got in Oxford University

Dirty protest! Man sues council because he can’t do washing after 8pm

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.