header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
06 May 2010 / Alison Pickup
Issue: 7416 / Categories: Features , Human rights
printer mail-detail

Presume nothing

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Alison Pickup analyses the changing nature of detaining foreign prisoners

In WL (Congo); KM (Jamaica) v SSHD [2010] EWCA Civ 111, [2010] All ER (D) 221 (Feb) the appellants were foreign national prisoners (FNPs), detained beyond the end of their sentence pending their deportation from the UK under powers contained in Sch 3 of the Immigration Act 1971 (the 1971 Act).

It had emerged in the course of litigation that during a period from approximately April 2006, when the so-called “foreign national prisoners crisis” broke, until September 2008, officials in the Home Office’s Criminal Casework Directorate (CCD), which dealt with the detention and deportation of FNPs, had been operating a blanket policy of detaining all FNPs, despite the fact that their published policy stated that there was a presumption in favour of release in all cases. In September 2008, the published policy was amended so that it now contained a presumption in favour of detention of FNPs, which was then applied by CCD. This policy operated until January 2009, when, following the judgment of the Administrative

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
NLJ this week: Family law urged to ditch adversarial instincts
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll