Update: Home Office Ordered To Bring Back Rafeeq Atanda & Mum To The UK

The Home Office has been ordered to find 5-year-old Rafeeq Atanda and his mother who were deported to Nigeria despite high profile campaigns in January (read here and here) and return them to the UK. Rafeeq, who was born in the UK and his  mum, Bola Fatumbi, were deported after their long-running asylum claim failed.

MailOnline reports;

In a landmark ruling which could undermine Theresa May’s so-called ‘deport first, appeal later’ immigration policy – a senior judge has now ordered the pair be returned to Britain while the case is judicially reviewed.

Mr Justice Cranston ordered that the Home Office foot the bill for tracking down Rafeeq and Ms Fatumbi, 45, and bringing them back to the UK.

Ms Fatumbi says she first came to Britain in 1991. She was later found to have left the country and returned at least once before she was caught and questioned by immigration officers after she was found working illegally in a shop in London.

Her application for leave to remain in the UK was rejected in 2008 and in the same year she was jailed for nine months for using a false Dutch passport.

Rafeeq was born in Britain in 2009 and his mother says his father left her when she was two months pregnant and she has not seen him since.

In 2010, the mother and son applied for asylum on the basis that the mother would be persecuted as a single mother or even labelled a witch if she was returned to Nigeria.

Their claim was rejected, as was an appeal, and the mother and son – who has been to nursery and primary school in Britain – were deported in January.

Mr Justice Cranston, a former Labour MP who is now a High Court judge, has now found the Home Office had not made the boy’s welfare their ‘primary consideration’.

Sitting with Upper Tribunal Judge Reeds in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, he ruled:

‘In ordinary circumstances… young children like RA are removable with their parents and their best interests are served by being with them.

But in the special circumstances of this case, in not taking into account the implications of BF’s mental health for RA, and the risk of that degenerating in the Nigerian context, and the likely consequences on removal, the Secretary of State failed to have regard to RA’s best interests as a primary consideration.’

In a subsequent ruling on costs, the judges said:

‘Considering the very unusual circumstances in the round we have decided that the Secretary of State should be ordered to take all reasonable steps to ensure the return of RA and his mother to this country.’

The landmark ruling, which will lead to further hearings of the case in the High Court and Court of Appeal, could change the way deportations involving children are dealt with in future.