Have a question?
033 3772 0409

News

Patrick Page Speaking in Parliament (21 November 2017)

Date: 21/11/2017
Duncan Lewis, Main Solicitors, Patrick Page Speaking in Parliament

Last week, on Monday 13 November, Patrick Page spoke in Parliament on a panel discussing refugee issues from family reunion to integration. The event was organised by the Afghanistan & Central Asian Association (ACAA) as part of Parliament Week 2017. The panel also included members of Parliament (Baroness Lister, Vicky Foxcroft and Liz McInnes), a senior policy advisor (Melanie Teff of UNICEF) and academics (Dr Elif Çetin and Dr Sara Silvestri, both of Cambridge University).

In his contribution, Patrick discussed the inhumane and often unlawful policies and practices of the ‘detention estate’, as well the manner in which the system creates both a physical and psychological barrier to integration.

Patrick noted that arrival in a ‘safe’ country is all too often the beginning of yet another traumatic ordeal: 30,000 women and men a year are detained in the UK under immigration powers. He also emphasised that the UK is an ‘outlier’ in Europe with regards to the extent to which the state uses detention and the fact that there is no time-limit.

Patrick spoke of the financial cost of detention (at between £30,000 and £50,000 a year per detainee) but stressed that the real cost is to human dignity. To highlight the suffering caused by detention, Patrick spoke of the work of the Harrow Public Law Team at Duncan Lewis Solicitors challenging the detention of pregnant woman and, more recently, successfully challenging the policy on the detention of survivors of torture.

Patrick added that it was the role and duty of Parliament to act as a check and balance to the executive. The abhorrent policies and practices of the Home Office with regards to detention need to be challenged not only by lawyers and NGOs, but also by civil society and its representatives in Parliament. He recalled his experience observing an evidence session by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) on Refugees and Migration in 2014, and, more recently, an evidence session of the Home Affairs Select Committee following the exposure of abuse at Brook House detention centre by BBC Panorama. Patrick reflected that both panels had featured politicians from across the political spectrum, all passionate about the need for radical reform of the detention system.

Patrick concluded that the issue of detention cannot be dismissed as an obsession of human rights activists and those on the political left;

‘It is fundamentally about human dignity, it is about what kind of country we want to be, it is about the national conscience.’

Call us now on 033 3772 0409 or click here to send online enquiry.
Duncan Lewis is the trading name of Duncan Lewis (Solicitors) Limited. Registered Office is 143-149 Fenchurch St, London, EC3M 6BL. Company Reg. No. 3718422. VAT Reg. No. 718729013. A list of the company's Directors is displayed at the registered offices address. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority . Offices all across London and in major cities in the UK. ©Duncan Lewis >>Legal Disclaimer, Copyright & Privacy Policy. Duncan Lewis do not accept service by email.