High Court grants injunction preventing Home Office removing immigrants without notice

On 14 March 2019, Walker J granted the charity Medical Justice an interim injunction preventing the Home Office from relying on its Removal Notice Windows policy in order to remove individuals from the UK without notice of the date and time of their removal. The injunction, which affects all removals and deportations from the UK, requires the Home Office to give notice of removal directions before anyone may be removed. In his judgment Walker J stated that there was apparently cogent evidence that individuals who had good grounds to challenge removal were exposed to the risk of being removed without any ability to explain those grounds and a strong reason for a real concern that the policy unjustifiably impedes access to justice.

The full hearing of Medical Justice’s claim will be in the summer.

Charlotte Kilroy QC represented Medical Justice, leading Alison Pickup and instructed by Public Law Project.

For press reports see coverage from the BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47577266

And The Mirror:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/home-office-must-suspend-policy-14136882