Home Office admits mobile phone outage in detention centres as deportees unable to contact lawyers (The Independent) (10 February 2020)

The Independent reports on how a mobile phone outage at removal centres has prevented people from accessing crucial legal services to challenge their deportation, days before a charter flight is set to leave the UK. Public law and immigration solicitor, Marina Khan who represents one of the detainees, Mr Bepart-Woollett, comments on the outage, stating “…we were trying to contact him every day since he instructed us.” As a result, Marina was unable to submit her client’s documents to the Home Office during office hours as she did not receive them in time. She notes that “…the delay was unreasonable…it’s caused a lot of undue stress and frustration for our client. He’s been totally deprived of contacting his legal representatives and unable to access legal justice and advice from us.”