Lawyers condemn increased use of deprivation of citizenship orders, as eight people are served notices while out of the country
Eight people suspected of terrorist links have been banned from returning to Britain under deprivation of citizenship orders, described bya lawyer for some of them as "far more draconian" than control orders.
A freedom of information request by the Guardian revealed that, since 2007, eight people have been issued with these orders and had their passports cancelled while out of the UK, the same number as currently are subject to control orders. Often they were visiting family members abroad in school holidays when the notices were served, followed within a day or two by a signed order and an exclusion order preventing them from returning to the UK.
The use of deprivation of citizenship orders has increased: of the eight orders since 2007, five were served last year.
Rights lawyers said that the recipients had suffered injustices, and that the orders were part of the "post-9/11 industry": while allegations of terrorist links might be justified, recipients had difficulty defending themselves because they were banned from the UK without warning.
The Immigration Law Practitioners' Association has made a submission to the parliamentary joint committee on human rights, condemning the increased use of these orders. In at least one case, it said, an attempt to communicate with lawyers in the UK from where the individual was stranded put them at risk.
Amanda Weston, a barrister dealing with some of the cases, said: "You get to see very clearly the impact of injustice on the lives of those on the receiving end and their families. There is increasing use of secret evidence, and national security considerations are having an impact on procedural fairness.
"Control orders are issued to people the government can't remove from the UK. Similarly, deprivation of citizenship orders are a way of making British citizens subject to immigration controls on very wide 'public good' grounds ? a far more draconian measure and a low-cost option for the secretary of state."
Derrick Agyeman, a security-cleared Met police employee born in Britain and of African descent, had his passport confiscated by Dutch officials on holiday in Amsterdam in 2006 because they thought he looked different to his passport photo. He was charged with using a false identity but the case was swiftly thrown out. Although his employer vouched for him, the Foreign Office refused to return his passport. He was denied entry to the UK for three months, and was allowed to return only when he lodged legal proceedings.
The Home Office said: "National security is the government's top priority and the home secretary will take any action necessary to protect the public. This includes depriving dual nationals of their British citizenship. Any individual deprived of citizenship has a right of appeal which will be fully considered by a court. They do not need to be in the country in order to exercise this right."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/jan/27/british-terror-suspects-banned-return
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