Last month I wrote for openDemocracy about how, when the UK government announced strict lockdown measures applicable to everyone in the UK, it continued to detain people under immigration powers despite clear evidence that detention centres and prisons (where people are also detained under immigration powers) provide fertile conditions for the rapid spread of COVID-19. One of our clients said he and other people in detention were “like sitting ducks”. People are held in detention indefinitely. Those who contact us are understandably terrified.
At Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) we provide legal advice and representation to secure immigration detainees’ release on bail. Since the lockdown was announced on 23rd March we have provided representation in 88 hearings, and 83 have been granted bail. This 94% success rate compares with BID’s success rate of 59% during 2018-19, and an overall success rate for all bail applications made to the First-tier Tribunal of around 30% outside of the current coronavirus crisis. In every single one of the cases, the Home Office has argued that detention should be maintained.
In research published by BID last week (Risky Business: detention decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic), we analysed the Home Office’s approach to detention decision-making in 42 of our successful bail cases. We found their approach to be callous, unnecessary and contrary to public health advice and instructions.
