News

Public Law Solicitor, Jamie Bell and Senior Caseworker, Mia Forton have successfully facilitated the relocation of a high-ranking Afghan government official under the Leave Outside the Immigration Rules (LOTR) provision, following protracted litigation highlighting systemic failures in the UK’s Afghan resettlement schemes.

Our client, a former senior government official in Afghanistan, played a pivotal role in combating violence against women, overseeing a team of over 300 personnel across all 34 Afghan provinces. Even before the fall of Kabul, she faced insurmountable threats to her life from Taliban officials. Since the Taliban's resurgence in August 2021, she has been in hiding, witnessing the erosion of women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan while remaining in constant danger of detection whilst the Taliban actively search for her.

The UK Government has committed to resettle 20,000 at-risk individuals, through the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) via three referral pathways. As it currently stands, Pathway 1 focused on those evacuated during Operation PITTING, Pathway 2 involved referrals from the UNHCR, and Pathway 3 prioritized British Council and GardaWorld contractors and Chevening alumni. Nonetheless, the Government have made public statements intending to expand the scheme to others at risk including women and human rights defenders – the exact criteria for our client.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors were instructed and initiated the claim challenging the failure of the UK Government to introduce the ACRS’ third referral pathway. The Government resisted the claim, citing resource constraints and operational challenges. After a significant delay, the UK Government also released further disclosure that the client had made an application under Afghanistan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and this was refused on generic reasons. Therefore, as it stood, the client had made two applications under the two resettlement schemes and the UK government had refused her eligibility under both. Working at pace, the legal team collected further evidence submitting the impact, she had on women’s rights in Afghanistan and requested that the UK Government considered her under LOTR provisions. The UK Government eventually conceded that due to her situation in Afghanistan she would be granted LOTR, with conditions of the exact same nature as those under ARAP. Nonetheless, it took a further seven months for the client to be successfully relocated to the UK.

This case underscores the urgent need for the UK Government to fulfil its promises and provide sanctuary to those who have risked their lives for human rights, and further highlights the UK Government’s inaction and inefficient application of the resettlement schemes.

About the Instructing Team

Jamie Bell is an experienced solicitor at Duncan Lewis in the public law team recognised as a Recommended Lawyer in the 2025 Legal 500. He has significant expertise in a wide variety of complex and high profile cases and a leader in the field in representing Afghan nationals in the asylum appeal and judicial review claim with great success. He is willing to act under extreme time pressures to ensure that justice is achieved for his clients.

Jamie Bell can be contacted at jamieb@duncanlewis.com or via telephone at 02031141184.

Mia Forton is a senior caseworker in the Public Law Department. She takes instructions on a wide array of public law challenges and has growing expertise within strategic litigation challenging decisions regarding the ACRS and ARAP resettlement schemes. She has experience working delicately with vulnerable clients in unpredictable situations, whilst gathering evidence at pace, allowing for clients to disclose sensitive issues in order to advance their case.

Mia Forton can be contacted at miaf@duncanlewis.com or via telephone at 02031141219.

Counsel were Rebecca Chapman and Sonali Naik KC at Garden Court Chambers.

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

Duncan Lewis Solicitors, an award-winning law firm, is renowned for its exceptional legal services and commitment to justice. The company employs a team of highly skilled solicitors offering top-tier representation in 25 fields of law, and ranked as top tier by the Chambers and the Legal 500 legal guides, and as one of the top 250 law firms in the country by the Times. Duncan Lewis was crowned Law Firm of the Year at the Modern Law Awards 2023, further establishing its credentials as one of the leading law firms in the UK.