R on the application of BA -v- Secretary of State for the Home Department (anonymity order)

Administrative CourtHigh CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim no: AC-2024-LON-003237

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Administrative Court

1 October 2024

Before:

Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE

Between:

The King
on the application of BA

-v-

Secretary of State for the Home Department

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

On the Claimant’s application for an anonymity order, urgent consideration, directions and interim relief;

Following consideration of the documents lodged by the Claimant;

Order by the Honourable Mrs Justice Lang DBE

  1. Pursuant to CPR r.39.2, in any report of these proceedings, there shall be no publication of the name and address of the Claimant, nor any other particulars likely to lead to his identification. In the proceedings, the Claimant shall be anonymised and referred to as “BA”.
  2. No later than 7 days from the date of this order, the Claimant’s solicitors shall file with the Court copies of case documents which have been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 1 above.
  3. Non-parties may not obtain any documents from the court file which have not been anonymised and/or redacted to protect the identity of the Claimant, in accordance with paragraph 1 above.
  4. The Defendant do file and serve an Acknowledgment of Service and Summary Grounds of Defence, including a response to the application for interim relief, and any relevant documents relating to the Claimant’s detention, no later than 7 October 2024.
  5. The Claimant may file and serve a Reply and evidence in response no later than 10 October 2024.
  6. The Claimant’s application for interim relief is to be listed for an oral hearing in the week commencing 14 October 2024. Time estimate: 2 hours.
  7. No later than 10 October 2024, the Claimant shall file and serve a bundle of authorities and statutory materials, both in electronic form and a hard copy to be lodged at the Administrative Court Office.
  8. Liberty to apply to vary or discharge this order on 2 days notice to the other party.
  9. Costs reserved.

Reasons

  1. The Claimant is a Nigerian national who has lived in the UK since September 2006 and has made numerous immigration and asylum applications.
  2. On 17 May 2022, he was convicted of an offence of sexual assault and on 14 June 2022 he was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment and a sex offenders registration requirement for 7 years. His supervision on licence ended on 12 December 2022 and his period of post sentence supervision ended on 12 September 2023. He has no ongoing engagement with the Probation Service.
  3. In September 2022, he was served with a Stage 1 Notice of intention to Deport. He made a further claim for asylum and on 31 January 2023 he was released on immigration bail.
  4. On 14 February 2023, he was convicted for failing to comply with sex offender register notification requirements, for which he was sentenced to 28 days imprisonment.
  5. On 27 February 2023, he was detained by the Defendant under Schedule 3 Immigration Act 1971. On 1 March he was served with a Stage 2 Deportation decision and refusal of his asylum claim. He became appeal rights exhausted by 15 May 2024 and directions were set for his removal from the UK on 7 June 2024.
  6. He instructed new solicitors (Duncan Lewis) who supported him to make further submissions in support of his claim for asylum. Duncan Lewis commissioned a scarring medical report, arising from experiences of physical and sexual violence and abuse in Nigeria, and PTSD was diagnosed. A psychiatric report has diagnosed mental health problems – depression, anxiety disorder and PTSD – which is exacerbated by his ongoing detention. The Defendant’s response to those further submissions is still awaited. In the meantime, the removal directions have been cancelled. The Claimant contends that there remains a barrier to his removal.
  7. A Rule 35 report dated 11 May 2024 stated that the Claimant has scars consistent with being a victim of torture and on 5 June 2024, the Defendant assessed him as an Adult at Risk Level 2 (though the Claimant contends he should have been assessed at Level 3).
  8. The Claimant was granted bail by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) on 7 August 2024, conditional on provision of accommodation by the Defendant, as well as reporting and electronic monitoring conditions. The Claimant has nowhere to live and is destitute. On 20 August 2024, the Defendant accepted that he is eligible for accommodation and support under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act.
  9. However, the Defendant has not yet secured suitable accommodation for the Claimant. The Defendant states that 4 proposed accommodation addresses have been rejected by the Lancashire Police because the Claimant has been registered as a sex offender. Most recently an address was proposed on 27 September 2024 with a dispersal date of 10 October 2024.
  10. There have been three subsequent grants of bail, following two bail reviews on the papers, and an oral hearing on 24 September 2024. FTT Judge Bird gave directions by email on 25 September 2024 stating that there is no prospect that he will be removed from the UK within a reasonable time and that he has been in detention for 17 months which is well over the time considered reasonable in the Presidential Guidance. She relisted the bail application for 2 October 2024 and stated “the Home Office is on notice that if no accommodation is provided by then, it is my intention to remove the residence condition”.
  11. The Claimant and his solicitors are understandably concerned that if bail is granted without a residence condition, the Claimant will be released from detention without any support and he will be street homeless. In my view, that would be highly undesirable, given the Claimant’s vulnerability, and the Defendant’s acceptance of a duty to provide support and accommodation.
  12. Although the claim was initially filed after hours on 27 September 2024, the claim could not be issued until the bundle was filed on 30 September 2024. I am making this order on the morning of 1 October 2024. In the circumstances, the Claimant’s request that the Defendant file a response by 2 pm today, and the Court determine the application for interim relief by the end of today, is wholly unrealistic. The Defendant must be given a fair opportunity to respond to the claim, and the Court ought not to make orders releasing detainees without hearing fully from both parties. I have set a timetable accordingly.
  13. It is unsatisfactory that the FTT bail applications are being heard simultaneously with the High Court claim but it is not appropriate for the High Court to tailor its procedures so as to fit in with the timing of the FTT bail hearing tomorrow. Of course, it may well be that the matter is resolved by the Claimant’s release from detention to suitable accommodation, in accordance with the FTT’s order, without the need for an interim hearing in the High Court, in which case the parties should notify this Court immediately.
  14. I have granted an anonymity order. The Claimant is an asylum seeker who claims to be at risk. In the circumstances, a departure from the general principle of open justice is justified.