Home Office failed to put in place system to protect detainees with HIV (The Guardian) (3 August 2021)

The Court ruled that the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) failed to put in place appropriate legal and administrative systems for protecting those with HIV detained under Immigration Act 1971 powers, in breach of the systems duty under Article 3 ECHR, and failed to take all reasonable steps to avoid a real and immediate risk of harm to the Claimant by timeously administering HIV medication, in material breach of her operational duty under Article 3 ECHR. Lead solicitor Jamie Bell, who brought the legal challenge, said: “This is a remarkable precedent and marks the first time wherein the systems operated by the Home Office within immigration detention were found to be so flawed as to amount to inhumane and degrading treatment in breach of Article 3 of the European convention on human rights.”