Asylum Seekers Claim They Were Unlawfully Detained Under Home Office Policy

The claimants were all arrested and detained by the UK Border Force under Home Office guidance and the Dublin III regulation which states that refugees must claim asylum in the first European country in which they arrive after fleeing their own country.

The regulation does permit the detention of asylum seekers before they are returned to the country where they first arrived in Europe – but only where there is a significant risk of them absconding, and the detention must be proportionate, for as short a time as possible and only where "less coercive means" were unavailable.

The claimants represented by Leigh Day were all detained in line with Home Office Enforcement Instruction and Guidance. However, in December 2019 the Supreme Court ruled that the Home Office policy was unlawful – it did not meet the criteria for detention permitted under the Dublin III regulation.