High Court judgment on MSVCC re-entry for survivor of modern slavery

The High Court has found that the Home Office unlawfully refused to ‘re-enter’ a confirmed victim of modern slavery into the National Referral Mechanism (“NRM”) to receive the support he needs to assist him to recover via the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract (“MSVCC”). 

ETX received a Conclusive Grounds decision in August 2022, confirming his status as a victim of modern slavery. He was kidnapped by an armed group in Libya, who tortured him and exploited him in forced labour. Despite being provided with evidence from a Consultant Psychiatrist that ETX required long-term, trauma-focused therapy, the Home Office failed provide him access to support for his psychological recovery during the Recovery Period and “exited” him from the NRM in November 2022. ETX’s subsequent requests for re-entry into the NRM to receive support via the MSVCC were refused. Instead, in May 2024, the Home Office provided Reach In support, which is limited to “information and signposting”. The High Court agreed that the Reach In support provided was inadequate to meet ETX’s recovery needs. 

ETX’s application for judicial review of the SSHD’s decisions was heard on 5 December 2024. On 12 February 2025, Upper Tribunal Judge O’Connor, sitting as a Judge of the High Court, found that the SSHD’s three decisions refusing to re-enter ETX into the NRM were “perverse” and “legally flawed” in that they failed to take account of relevant considerations, and went so far as to contradict the medical evidence (§63, §70). In addition, he found that the SSHD’s conclusion that Reach In support was a suitable alternative for ETX was “irrational” (§105, §109).

The judge held that the SSHD’s discretion to re-enter individuals into the NRM to receive MSVCC support must be exercised on a “principled, lawful, and evidenced basis” (§106).

The SSHD has since agreed to reassess whether ETX should be re-entered into the NRM to receive MSVCC support on an expedited basis.

See the judgment here, and further information about the case here.

ETX instructed Grace Capel, with Bryony Goodesmith, Adam Hundt and Nakita Hedges of Deighton Pierce Glynn