The UK's "immigration exemption" in the Data Protection Act 2018 has now affected over 20,000 people.
“At least 20,000 people have been denied information that could prove their right to stay in the UK, in what campaigners are warning is a revival of the ‘hostile environment’.
A controversial loophole – passed into law despite warnings it risked “the next Windrush” – has been used to block almost 43 per cent of requests for the government to release vital data, The Independent can reveal.
The huge impact of the clause – allowing data to be kept secret if release would “undermine immigration control” – comes despite ministers promising it would be used only on a “case-by-case basis”.“
UK: At least 20,000 people denied information that could prove right to live in UK, in new ‘hostile environment’ clampdown (The Independent, link)