Remember this in August 2012?
LINK to full story in The MAIL. ( He volunteered to fight for Britain. Now this soldier faces deportation and jail... all over a speeding fine )
LINK to this Glyn Strong's BLOG. (Deported for speeding offence )
LINK to UK Progressive. (Not fit for Purpose)
LINK to TTV/VETERANS AID film and interview:(Two Tier Justice)
Today the High Court ruled against the Home Secretary's original decision describing the current "good character" assessment process as "mechanistic and inflexible".
A victory for common sense and for the charity Veterans Aid which supported this man from the outset.
VETERAN WINS
LANDMARK APPEAL AGAINST CITIZENSHIP DECISION
A veteran once threatened with deportation and
a prison sentence for enlisting in the British Army today won his judicial
review against the Home Secretary’s decision.
Mr. Poloko Hiri, a national of
Botswana described by senior military figures as an “intelligent, motivated and
hard-working soldier” with an “exemplary record of conduct”, has been supported
by the charity Veterans Aid since being refused British Citizenship by the Home
Office on the basis of a speeding offence for which he received 5 points and a
£100 fine.
Mr. Hiri, who is presently
studying law and living in Veterans Aid accommodation, said, “The first thing that came into my mind when the
barrister took my statement was ‘Where would I have been without Veterans
Aid?’.I just don’t know. I couldn’t have gone back to Botswana - I wouldn’t
have been anywhere. I am so grateful to Veterans Aid for all it has done for me
and so very glad that this is over. I now want to get on with my life, finish
my law degree and be a good citizen of
the UK.”
The Secretary of State had
repeatedly asserted that Mr. Hiri was not of “good character”, because of this
single offence but in her judgment Mrs. Justice Lang concluded that the good
character test had been applied in a “mechanistic and inflexible” way. She said
that all aspects of the applicant’s character, not just whether they have previous
criminal convictions, should be taken into account adding “It is much wider in
scope than that.”
CEO of Veterans Aid Dr Hugh
Milroy welcomed the ruling and said, “This charity deals with a large number of
appeals from Foreign & Commonwealth veterans, and even serving personal who,
through no fault of their own, have fallen foul of immigration rulings. I can
honestly say that none have presented a better case for the system to be
reviewed than Mr. Hiri. He was an exemplary soldier and is a most diligent and
personable individual.
“Although, after our intervention, he avoided
deportation by seeking asylum, and was subsequently given limited leave to
remain, the underlying wrong was the flawed process applied to his initial
application. That decision deprived him of the means to survive by either
working or claiming benefits; it was not only unjust but also inhumane. That
said we are encouraged to note a general move towards greater flexibility in
these cases and are grateful for the concern expressed by former Immigration
Minister Mark Harper.”
* * *
NATURALISATION-
REFUSAL ON GOOD CHARACTER GROUNDS- JUDICIAL REVIEW
DUNCAN LEWIS PRESS RELEASE
The
High Court today ruled in favour of a distinguished former member of the
British Armed Forces who had been refused British Citizenship by the Home
Office on the basis of a sole speeding offence for which he received 5 points
and a £100 fine.
Mr
Poloko Hiri, a national of Botswana, had been described by senior military
figures as an “intelligent, motivated and hard-working soldier” with an
“exemplary record of conduct”, who “had his character put to the test … where
his peers have had to depend on him in austere and challenging environments.”
Despite that evidence, the Secretary of State repeatedly asserted that Mr Hiri
was not of “good character”, insisting on the narrow basis of his speeding
offence.
Today
the High Court held that the Secretary of State’s “decision-making process was
legally flawed” and has set out that she should “re-consider her decision in
accordance with the law”. Mrs Justice Lang DBE warned against the Secretary of
State applying her policy on the determination of ‘good character’ in a
“mechanistic and inflexible” way and set out that the Secretary of State “must
consider all aspects of the applicant’s character” where “the statutory test is
not whether applicants have previous criminal convictions – it is much wider in
scope than that.”
In
this case, the High Court has held that Home Office official “deliberately
excluded from his consideration the circumstances of the offence and the
mitigating factors”.
The
Home Office frequently insisted in this case, in line with her policy, that it
could not “overlook” or “disregard” Mr Hiri’s offence. However, Mr Hiri had
repeatedly made clear to the Secretary of State that he took full
responsibility for the offence and accepted that it must be taken into account;
he simply asked to have that conviction weighed in the balance against all of
the evidence he had provided, in order to assess his character as a whole. The
holistic approach advocated by Mr Hiri has been upheld by the High Court today.
Mrs
Justice Lang DBE has set out that in these cases “The Defendant is entitled to
adopt a policy on the way in which criminal convictions will normally be
considered by her caseworkers, but it should not be applied mechanistically and
inflexibly. There has to be a comprehensive assessment of each applicant’s
character, as an individual, which involves an exercise of judgment, not just
ticking boxes on a form.”
Toufique
Hossain, Public and Immigration Law Director at Duncan Lewis and solicitor in
the case says:
“Those who will read
this judgment will see that the Judge applied fairness and common sense to this
case. Our argument was simply that a man who gave his life to fight for this
country, and in every other way but for one speeding offence, showed good
character, should not be deprived of British Citizenship. It is a shame this
had to go all the way to the High Court. The Home Secretary should have seen
sense long ago instead of fighting this case. We are grateful to the British
Armed Forces and to Veterans Aid for all their support for our client.”
Mr
Hiri was represented by Raza Halim of Garden Court Chambers. Solicitor,
Toufique Hossain of Duncan Lewis.