This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/homeless-eu-citizens-deporting-illegal-policy-home-office-high-court-ruling-brexit-stop-a8110001.html
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Home Office policy of deporting homeless EU citizens is illegal, High Court rules | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The High Court has ordered the Government to stop deporting homeless EU citizens after ruling that the controversial policy is unlawful. | The High Court has ordered the Government to stop deporting homeless EU citizens after ruling that the controversial policy is unlawful. |
| Mrs Justice Lang said measures introduced last year were discriminatory and violated EU law, following a challenge by two Polish men and a Latvian. | |
| The three men were all facing removal because they were found by police and immigration officers sleeping rough, later launching a judicial review. | |
| Mrs Justice Lang said homelessness alone did not meet the legal requirements for deportation, even if accompanied by offences including begging, drinking and nuisance. | |
| “There has been a significant increase in rough sleepers of all nationalities,” she said. “The policy discriminated unlawfully against EEA nationals and rough sleepers.” | |
| The judge issued “quashing” orders throwing out the Home Office’s policy as published in February and ordered it to pay the claimants’ legal costs. | |
| The Government published a revised policy shortly before the High Court hearing, which was too short to be considered and had not received ministerial approval. | |
| Mrs Justice Laing urged the Home Secretary to “take stock and re-consider the terms of the proposed revised policy, in the light of advice from her legal advisers”. | |
| The claimants were represented by lawyers Deighton Pierce Glynn on behalf of the Aire Centre, which campaigns for rights under European law. | |
| “The rounding up of EU rough sleepers who have not committed any offences and who then face being detained creates a climate of fear,” the legal firm said. | |
| “The Home Office’s desire to create a ‘hostile environment’ for foreign nationals has been dealt a significant blow by this ruling.” | |
| Lawyer Zubier Yazdani said the High Court had “sent a strong message to the Home Office that its removal of rough sleeping EU citizens is totally unlawful and discriminatory”. | |
| “This ruling serves as a reminder to the Home Office that EU law still applies as it always has done and no gloss that the Home Office wants to put on the rights of EU citizens can change the meaning and effect of that,” he added. | |
| In its witness statement, the Home Office said rough sleeping had increased by 55 per cent across the UK and 91 per cent in London between 2010 and 2015, claiming that European citizens were arriving “intent on rough sleeping”. | |
| “Rough sleepers could damage the reputation of central London areas as a tourist destination, they had an adverse impact on the amenities of residents and other visitors, and public authorities incurred costs in managing the problems which they caused,” said a summary of the Government’s argument. | |
| Central and Eastern European citizens made up around 10 per cent of recorded rough sleepers in London in 2007 but the total had risen to more than a third by last year. | |
| The European Commission previously raised questions about the legality of the Home Office's policy, saying EU citizens have the right to live in other European countries "irrespective of whether they are homeless or not". | The European Commission previously raised questions about the legality of the Home Office's policy, saying EU citizens have the right to live in other European countries "irrespective of whether they are homeless or not". |
| Removals have soared since Brexit, with almost 5,000 EU citizens deported in the past 12 months - the highest number on record and a rise of 14 per cent on the previous year. | Removals have soared since Brexit, with almost 5,000 EU citizens deported in the past 12 months - the highest number on record and a rise of 14 per cent on the previous year. |