Channel migrants are to be barred from judicial reviews of their rejected asylum applications under new laws to prevent lawyers making spurious claims to delay deportations.
Migrants whose appeals have been rejected by the immigration tribunals will no longer be able to challenge the decision if they have been refused permission to appeal.
The tactic has accounted for hundreds of cases which have delayed the removal of rejected asylum seekers or illegal migrants for months at a cost of hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, ministers claims most are delaying tactics to avoid removal.
Ministry of Justice data showed just three per cent of such immigration claims are successful in the high courts compared with 40 per cent to 50 per cent for other cases.
The changes will be part of the Government’s bill reforming judicial review and overturn a 2012 Supreme Court ruling which allowed these cases to be subject to judicial review.
Officials said the ruling had prevented the swift processing of immigration and asylum cases, with last-minute legal challenges causing delays and leaving the Home Office unable to remove people with no right to be in this country.
‘Abuse and delay’
Robert Buckland, the Justice Secretary, said: “The Government has pledged to ensure that the courts are not open to abuse and delay. Today we are delivering on that commitment.
“We are giving judges the powers they need to ensure the Government is held to account, while tackling those who seek to frustrate the court process.”
An official review has found that out of 5,500 judicial review cases since 2012, just 12 or 0.2 per cent were successful. The vast majority were immigration and asylum cases.
It comes as record numbers of migrants have crossed the Channel since the start of the year. More than 9,300 have made the dangerous 21-mile journey so far this year – already surpassing last year’s record total of 8,410.
July has also seen a record breaking 3,500 arrivals in more than 120 boats, beating June’s high of 2,179 in 92 boats.
The judicial review bill comes on top of proposed new laws to reform what ministers claim is Britain’s “broken” asylum system.
The two-tier approach will bar illegal migrants from including those using small boats to reach the UK claiming asylum or securing long term residency while opening up legal routes for refugees from established camps abroad.
Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, is also proposing a “one-stop shop” for asylum applications where they will be expected to submit all their claims at the start to prevent late last minute submissions of evidence that could have been considered at the beginning.
