10 Dec High Court finds yet another Home Office policy unlawful

The High Court has today decided that the Home Office’s approach to protecting victims of trafficking is unlawful.

The test case was brought by two victims of trafficking, who challenged the Home Office’s policy of refusing to grant them leave to remain in the UK until their asylum claims were considered. This meant that they and many others had to wait for months, sometimes years, to be able to get the stability and security they needed to be safe from their traffickers and to begin to recuperate from their horrific ordeals.

The judge decided that the policy was unlawful because it breached the women’s human rights. The Home Office will now have to change its policy in this respect. Click to view the judgment and Order.

Our solicitor Ugo Hayter, who brought the case with the assistance of Althia Stephens, Adam Hundt and barrister Chris Buttler of Matrix Chambers, said:

“There was no good reason for the Home Office to delay giving our clients’ the stability and security they needed to have a chance of recovering from their experiences. This judgment should result in changes to the policy that ensure that the many others in our clients’ position will not have to endure the prolonged uncertainty and hardship that the Home Office’s policy has caused them. Survivors of modern slavery and trafficking need a system in place that focuses on their needs, and not on creating a hostile environment.”

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