The UK Home Office was wrong to refuse to reunite child refugees with their families, the country's High Court finds.
Safe Passage, the child rights organisation that launched the legal challenge, said the judgment on Friday offered ‘hope’ to child refugees wanting to join their families in the UK.
More than 500 child refugees had their application to reunite with their family in the UK under the EU’s family reunion rules rejected last year. As a result, the children were left stranded alone in Europe during the global pandemic.
Officials argued that following the UK’s departure from the European Union last year, existing family reunion rules no longer applied. However, judges found the Home Office was wrong to advise case workers to refuse applications simply because they had failed to complete the necessary enquiries in time to meet deadlines under the EU’s rules.
The High Court ruling means the Home Office will now have to reconsider applications it previously rejected.
Safe Passage, which helps refugees access safe routes to asylum, said its legal challenge had already pressured the Home Office to make ‘some improvements’ to its policy which resulted in more separated families being reunited.
“It should never have taken court action for the Home Office to decide applications fairly and lawfully, and we urge the Government to put these wrongs right by swiftly reuniting those refugee families whose applications were refused,” said Jennine Walker, Head of UK Legal and Arrivals at Safe Passage.
Last month, the UK government was warned it could face legal action from authorities on the English coast that say they cannot cope with the number of child migrants arriving from across the Channel.
Kent County Council is looking after more than 400 minors and says ministers should force other areas of Britain to share the burden.
Result
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 – Group 1 (PA) $65,000 (Dirt) 2,000m; Winner: Brraq, Ryan Curatolo (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $65,000 (Turf) 1,800m; Winner: Bright Melody, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
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THE SPECS
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Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 518bhp
Torque: 625Nm
Speed: 0-100kmh 5.3 seconds
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
More on Turkey's Syria offence
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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SQUADS
South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi
Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed
Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom
Gothia Cup 2025
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