An End To 'Zero-Notice' Deportations

According to the Guardian, a high court judge has ordered the Home Office to stop using a policy introduced in 2007 whereby foreign nationals can be detained and deported almost immediately, denying them any opportunity to challenge the order in the courts. In the example the papers quotes, "a seriously ill Cameroon national was arrested at 10.30pm scheduled to be put on board a charter flight leaving at 6.30am. A friend managed to call the man's solicitor, who in turn found a barrister to apply to a duty judge. The judge – roused from his bed – granted an injunction at 1.30am, calling the manner of the deportation "completely unconscionable"."

Medical Justice had challenged the so-called 'zero-notice' provision that circumvents UK Borders Agency regulations guaranteeing a minimum of 72-hour notice of the implementation of any deportation order. These exceptions applied to unattended minors, removing the chance of their absconding as they cannot be held in a detention centre prior to their removal. those at risk of self-harm or suicide, those have already agreed to be deported e.g. participants in voluntary repatriation schemes, and those believed to be likely to cause 'serious disruption' if held in a detention centre prior to their removal i.e. anybody.