The high court ordered the home secretary to release a 25-year-old Nigerian asylum seeker with schizophrenia and said the Home Office may owe damages for breaching his human rights. The man was jailed in Scotland in October 2024 and due for release in January after signing a letter withdrawing his asylum claim, which he later did not understand or intend. The home secretary reinstated the asylum claim but continued detention, believing removal could occur within weeks. A tribunal granted immigration bail in May, but release was delayed over 15 weeks because no suitable community accommodation was provided. The judge questioned the home secretary's diligence.
Yvette Cooper could face legal action over the decision to keep an asylum seeker with schizophrenia in prison. The high court has ordered the home secretary to release the 25-year-old man by 8 September, and the Home Office may have to pay him damages for breaching his human rights. The judgment, published this week within hours of Nigel Farage unveiling plans for mass deportations, demonstrates the legal obstacles a Reform UK administration might face.
The claimant, from Nigeria, whose name was anonymised in the judgment, was jailed for offences in Scotland in October 2024 and was due to be released in January this year. However, weeks before he was to be released, the man signed a letter withdrawing his asylum claim. The home secretary then detained him in prison under immigration powers to remove him from the country and prevent him absconding in the meantime.
Collection
[
|
...
]