Downing Street condemns Appeal Court decision to halt deportation of foreign criminals
2 min read
Downing Street has launched an outspoken attack on the Court of Appeal's decision to halt the deportation of 25 foreign criminals to Jamaica.
The 11th hour decision meant that only 17 offenders were on board a flight to the Caribbean island on Tuesday morning.
On Monday evening, the High Court rejected an attempt by campaigners to halt the flight entirely.
But the Appeal Court later ruled some of those scheduled to be removed from the UK should be allowed to stay because they had been unable to access legal counsel while in two Heathrow detention centres, because their mobile phone signal had been disrupted.
Hitting out at the ruling, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said the men given a reprieve included one guilty of manslaughter, two convicted of rape or sexual assault, one firearms offender, seven jailed for violent offences, and 14 for drug offences.
The spokesman said: “We bitterly regret this decision which prevents the removal from our country of foreign criminal convicted of rape, manslaughter, sexual attacks, violence and drug crimes, which spread misery across our communities.
“The legal process for removing these offenders, which has included repeated appeals and judicial reviews, has already cost the British public tens of thousands of pounds.
“The taxpayer will now be left with an even bigger bill and the prospect of convicts who are considered to pose a threat to the UK being granted bail while this matter is resolved.
“We make no apology whatsoever for seeking to remove serious foreign national offenders and will be urgently appealing.”
The spokesman insisted the phone signal issue only affected those using the O2 network for three days in mid-January.
He said the men “all had ample access to other communications”, including alternative SIM cards as well as access to landlines, the internet and face-to-face legal surgeries.
The PM’s spokesman said the 17 men who were deported to Jamaica had between them been sentenced to 75 years in jail for rape, firearms offences, serious violence and drug crime.
He added that 12 judicial reviews have been launched in response to the flight, confirming that changing the rules around this “is one of the things we want to progress most quickly” in the Government’s planned investigation into how aspects of the constitution function.
A senior Tory source attacked Labour for pursuing this matter in the House of Commons yesterday with an urgent question.
He said: "The ‘Westminster bubble’ view of trying to halt this flight makes the case perfectly to the public about why such a review is needed.
“And why certain parts of Westminster still haven’t learned the lesson from the 2019 election.”
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