Lawyers highlight lack of access to legal help & shocking rise in litigants in person
Judges, barristers, solicitors and immigration specialists have voiced a string of concerns about the government’s treatment of immigration detainees.
They spoke under conditions of strict anonymity for an independent study commissioned by the Bar Council and published this week, Injustices in Immigration Detention, written by Dr Anna Lindley of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
The lawyers slated inflexible Home Office rules and target-obsessed officials, and complained of a lack of access to legal help for detainees.
Judges claimed Home Office officials give misleading information to tribunals and present them with ‘elliptical nonsense’ when challenging bail applications. Lawyers accused Home Office officials of overlooking key details, reluctance to disclose important information at tribunal hearings, incompetence and, as one barrister put it, being ‘on some sort of mission to imprison people’.
Lawyers giving evidence for the report highlighted the lack of access to legal help. One judge spoke of the ‘shocking’ rise in unrepresented litigants in person. In some areas, nearly a third of bail applicants were unrepresented.
Solicitors say the low means test for legal aid is a stumbling block for detainees—clients rarely have the necessary financial documents with them at their appointment, and often have difficulties accessing this information in detention.
Chair of the Bar Andrew Langdon QC said: ‘Dr Lindley’s research paints a picture of officials acting with little accountability, unable or unwilling to pursue obvious and viable alternatives to detention.
‘The quality of decision-making by immigration officers is exacerbated by the difficulties faced by detainees in obtaining legal advice and representation.’
A government spokesperson said: ‘Home Office Presenting Officers are provided with extensive training which includes specific training on bails and they do not have targets to keep people in detention. When assessing new work both the Legal Aid Agency and providers are obliged to ensure that clients meet the means and merits tests set out in regulations.
‘Most people detained under the Immigration Act powers spend only very short periods in detention. Factors that can lead to prolonged detention include a history of absconding, non-compliance with immigration processes and a prolific offending history.’
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