Read about 2 asylum seekers in Britain. In Canada they would get an apartment, health care etc but we would not put them in jail.
TWO asylum seekers jailed for entering Britain on false passports have won £130,600 compensation — and opened the floodgates for 5,000 more claims.
Lawyers for the Kosovan couple spotted a clause in the 1951 United Nations convention to win the record payout from the Home Office.
The married couple — known only as Mr and Mrs B — were found to have used forged passports when they were arrested in London, trying to travel to Canada in February 1999.
They were sentenced to six months’ jail.
But their lawyers said Section 31 of the convention states that asylum seekers should NOT be penalised for entering a country illegally. And in June 2000 their convictions were overturned.
They are now free and waiting for an asylum application to be processed. Mr B, 33, was awarded £57,100 in an out-of-court settlement for loss of liberty, injury to feelings and conditions of imprisonment.
His 29-year-old wife got £73,500, including £17,500 for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Their solicitor Patrick Allen, of London law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, said the awards were the highest to date for such a case.
It is feared up to 5,000 more illegal immigrants will use the same argument — and leave the taxpayer millions out of pocket. |
