[Home] [Databases] [World Law] [Multidatabase Search] [Help] [Feedback] | ||
England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions |
||
You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> RT, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2011] EWHC 1792 (Admin) (13 July 2011) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/1792.html Cite as: [2011] EWHC 1792 (Admin) |
[New search] [Printable RTF version] [Help]
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL |
||
B e f o r e :
____________________
THE QUEEN on the application of RT |
Claimant |
|
- and - |
||
THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT |
Defendant |
____________________
Mr Jeremy Johnson QC (instructed by The Treasury Solicitor) for the Defendant
Hearing dates: 23 July 2010
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
Mr Justice Kenneth Parker :
Introduction
"I am afraid as I have been arrested and tortured. I am afraid if I go back the same will happen and I may be killed."
"The Appellant arrived in the United Kingdom in 2004 and she claims that she was made a prisoner by a man called Andy. There is no statement from her boyfriend, who she claims met her in the pub where Andy abandoned her, to corroborate this. The Appellant further claims that she was kept a prisoner by Andy for three years. He did not allow her to leave the premises without him and when he left he locked her in. The Appellant was unable to explain why she, an educated person, was unable to seek any assistance when she was left in the property on her own. This was for a matter of nearly three years. I do not believe that this Appellant was being kept a virtual prisoner by any person. There is no evidence of this. Once the Appellant did make her claim for asylum she did not report the matter to the police and did not seek the assistance of the authorities to seek out Andy. The Appellant claimed she did not know where she lived. I do not find that explanation credible. In any event I find the Appellant's story of her being held a prisoner for three years not credible for the reasons I have given."
"I find that the appellant's whole account of detention and ill-treatment in Uganda for the reasons she has given is not credible because of the appellant's failure to explain the various discrepancies that have arisen in her account not only at the hearing but also in the substantive interview. The appellant was unable to explain why she referred continuously to the FDC [Forum of Democratic Change] when this party was not formed until August 2004 …
35. On the whole I find that this appellant has fabricated her account in order to form the basis of an asylum claim."
"Miss T disclosed in her assessment that she had been brought from Uganda into this country by a man who facilitated her travel and subsequently exploited her upon arrival in the UK. On the basis of the information given in the assessment we conclude that Miss T was trafficked into this country for the purpose of domestic servitude."
The Legal and Policy Framework
"If there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person is someone in respect of whom directions may be given under any of paragraphs 8 to 10A …, that person may be detained under the authority of an immigration officer pending -
(a) a decision whether or not to give such directions;
(b) his removal in pursuance of such directions."
There is no issue in this case that the Claimant fell within the relevant paragraphs of Schedule 2 of the Immigration Act 1971.
"1. Any asylum claim, for whatever the nationality or country of origin of the Claimant, may be considered suitable for fast track where it appears after screening to be one that may be decided quickly.
2. It is the responsibility of the duty officer at the asylum intake unit (AIU) to identify claims suitable for the DFT process at Yarlswood."
"- Anybody where there is independent evidence that she is being tortured,
- where there is independent evidence from a recognised organisation, for example the Poppy Project, that the Claimant has been a victim of trafficking. (See also OEM Ch 38 para 38.4)"
"(1) Every detained person shall be given a physical and mental examination by the medical practitioner or another registered medical practitioner in accordance with rules 33(7) or (10) within 24 hours of his admission to the detention centre.
(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall allow an examination to be given in any case where the detained person does not consent to it.
(3) If a detained person does not consent to an examination under paragraph (1) he shall be entitled to the examination at any subsequent time upon request."
"(1) The medical practitioner shall report to the manager on the case of any detained person whose health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued detention or any conditions of detention.
…
(3) The medical practitioner shall report to the manager on the case of any detained person who he is concerned may have been the victim of torture.
(4) The manager shall send a copy of any report under paragraphs (1), (2) or (3) to the Secretary of State without delay.
(5) The medical practitioner shall pay special attention to any detained person whose mental condition appears to require it and make any special arrangements, including counselling arrangements which appear necessary for his supervision or care."
"50. In my view the combined effect of the Detention Centre Rules, the statement of Lord Filkin, the provisions of Chapter 38 of the Operation Enforcement Manual and the relevant provisions of the Detention Services Operating Standards Manual all point in one direction: which is that the medical examination required under Rule 34 of the Detention Centre Rules is a part – an important part – of the safeguards provided to assess whether a person, once removed to Oakington, should continue to be detained there under the fast-track procedure. Further, it seems to me to be a necessary corollary of that that any such concerns as to torture as may be identified by the medical practitioner would at least be capable of constituting "independent evidence" for the purposes of the Government's announced policy. Indeed if that were not so, it is difficult to see why so much emphasis has consistently been placed on the availability of – indeed, requirement for – such physical and mental examination. It is also to be noted that the structure of Rule 35 is such that the requirement under Rule 35(3) for the medical practitioners to report concerns as to torture is distinct from any requirement to report on grounds of injury to health by reason of detention (Rule 35(1)) and from any requirement to report concerns of suicide (Rule 35(2)).
….
52. I would, however, agree with Ms Richards that there is a separate question as to the weight to be given to such evidence; and I would not agree with Mr Rabinder Singh's submissions to the extent that such submissions connoted that any expression of concern arising from medical screening (whether or not arising from a Rule 34 examination) would "inevitably" mean that the asylum application in question would then have sufficient complications to render it inappropriate for the fast-track procedure (and concomitant detention) to be maintained. Indeed I do not read Lord Filkin's statement as making so wide-ranging a concession even with regard to a report made under Rule 35(3). A concern as noted on an AOT form by, for instance, a relatively inexperienced nurse after an initial screening may be regarded as very different from a concern noted by an experienced doctor contained in a Rule 35(3) report in deciding whether to continue to detain. In any event, always relevant will be the way in which such concerns – whether or not by way of Rule 35(3) report - are reported and, to some extent, the strength with which such concerns are raised. In some cases the result may then be the removal forthwith of the asylum-seeker from the fast-track procedure. If so, whether the asylum-seeker should then be detained elsewhere will depend on whether there are sufficiently exceptional other circumstances to justify such detention."
"This guidance should be followed during all operations where individuals who may be victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are encountered so that potential victims are handled in a consistent and sensitive manner. During operations, enquiries into whether a person is a victim of trafficking should take precedence over enquiries into the individual's immigration status. Officers should be aware that victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are likely to be classified as vulnerable persons and detention will not normally be appropriate." (emphasis in original)
The Relevant Legal Principles Concerning Unlawful Detention
"70. Sometimes a statute puts the effect of a failure to follow procedural requirements beyond doubt. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 34(1), states that "A person . . . shall not be kept in police detention except in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act"; those provisions require regular reviews; failure to conduct those reviews on time renders detention beyond the time when they should have been conducted unlawful: see Roberts v Chief Constable of the Cheshire Constabulary [1999] 1 WLR 662, CA. Sometimes a statute does not say in so many words that failing to comply with one of its procedural requirements will render the resulting detention unlawful, but the courts will construe the statute to mean that it does. An example is the prohibition in the Mental Health Act 1983, section 11(4)(a), of making an application for compulsory admission to hospital if the patient's nearest relative objects: Re S-C (Mental Patient: Habeas Corpus) [1996] QB 599, CA. In these cases, it is irrelevant that the person concerned could have been lawfully detained had the correct procedures been followed. Sometimes, however, the court will conclude that the lawfulness of detention does not depend upon the fulfilment of a particular statutory requirement. For example, in R (D) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWHC 980 (Admin), it was common ground that failing to comply with the requirement in the (Immigration) Detention Centre Rules 2001 SI 2001/238 that immigration detainees be given a medical examination within 24 hours of arrival did not render the detention unlawful unless the detainees could show that it would have led to their earlier release."
The Alleged Breaches of Policy
Rule 34
"This scar is typical of a whip injury resulting in superficial laceration of the skin. The scar is not deep indicating that the wound was superficial and there would have been no need for suturing of such a laceration. Ms T explains this scar results from being whipped whilst in detention in Uganda. She was able to describe a long black leather whip with only one tail. The scar is highly consistent with the account provided and I can see no other explanation for such injury. This area of the thigh is a site of non-accidental injury. I have considered other possible explanations of this scar but can find none."
"…. She is absolutely clear and consistent in her account that she was beaten whilst in detention with blows and kicks and a whip. The scar is consistent with the account of being beaten diffusely and it is not surprising that the precise cause cannot be recalled."
Breach of the Policy Regarding Trafficking
Conclusion