Up to 23 people who were due to be deported from Britain to Jamaica on a controversial charter flight have been granted a last minute reprieve.
The Home Office was seeking to remove 36 Jamaican nationals who they say are ‘serious foreign criminals’ including convicted rapists and murderers.
Only 13 men were eventually deported in the early hours of Wednesday morning after lawyers filed last ditch legal action.
Numerous high profile celebrities and campaign groups had called on the Government not to go ahead with the flight in the run-up to its departure.
Chris Philp, the department’s minister for immigration compliance, criticised ‘specialist immigration law firms’ for using ‘last minute tactics’ to stop deportations.
He said: ‘These individuals had every opportunity to raise the claims in the days and weeks leading up to the flight; however, a significant number of claims were not submitted until hours before the flight was due to leave – meaning murderers and rapists have been able to stay in the UK.
‘Those we are attempting to remove have committed crimes which have a devastating impact on victims and their families.
‘We will be working through these cases as quickly as possible. I remain committed to removing foreign criminals and anyone without a legal basis to be here to keep the British public safe – which will always be my number one priority.’
The Home Office insisted none of the offenders were eligible for the Windrush compensation scheme. But it would not say whether any had immediate relatives who were from the Windrush generation.
The department said all 36 originally due to be on board the flight were Jamaican citizens and none had been born in the UK. It would not say whether any had lived in the country since they were children.
After the Windrush scandal, the UK came to an informal arrangement with Jamaica not to deport those who arrived in the UK when they were very young.
Some of those due to be deported were granted a last-minute reprieve after fresh asylum and modern slavery claims were made.
Lawyers had also gone to court to prevent parents being separated from their children, who would be left behind in the UK.
This application was later refused after being considered, according to a Court of Appeal ruling.
One young boy wrote a heartfelt letter to a judge urging them to let his father stay, but this was apparently ignored.
According to the Home Office, the 13 on the flight had combined sentences of more than 100 years, including three who were convicted of murder, another of manslaughter, while others had been sentenced for crimes like grooming, drug dealing, burglary and robbery.
The department also branded the 23 who were taken off the flight as ‘serious foreign criminals’, saying they had combined total sentences of 156 years, including a life term for murder, rapists and drug dealers.
One of those due to be on board was reportedly Michael Antonio White, who was convicted of murder in 2003.
Now in his 50s, he was sentenced to life in prison after shooting his victim six times in a drug deal gone wrong, Mail Online reports.
The cases are being urgently reviewed with a view to deporting the people at the next available opportunity.
Bella Sankey, director of charity Detention Action, said: ‘As minister Philp well knows, last minute claims are filed because his Government fails to provide effective access to justice before mass expulsions.
‘But the tragedy of this tale is the many devastated children who have had a loving parent forcibly ripped from their lives without any consultation or being able to make their voice heard. This is child cruelty plain and simple and it will not stand.’
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