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Lords confirms contempt ruling

01 September 1993

The House of Lords delighted constitutional and immigration lawyers by confirming on 27 July that Kenneth Baker was in contempt of court when he defied a court order preventing him from deporting a Zairean asylum-seeker.

The asylum-seeker, referred to as "M", had arrived in Britain from Zaire in 1990, having escaped arrest for opposition activity against president Mobutu Sese Seko. His application for political asylum was rejected, and on 1 May 1991, the day he was due to be removed, his solicitors lodged an application for judicial review of the removal. The Home Office representative in court told the judge that M would not be removed pending a hearing of the challenge. However, the aircraft took off for Paris with M on board and, despite intervention from M's solicitor and his MP, he was put on a flight to Kinshasa and there handed over to the Zairean authorities. He has not been heard of since he rang his solicitor from Nigeria in July 1991.

The High Court decided in July 1992 that the Home Office could not be guilty of contempt of court. Its decision was overturned in November 1992 by the Court of Appeal.

The House of Lords ruling means that it is now possible to take out injunctions against government departments, something which it had previously ruled impossible. In 1991 the anomalous situation arose that injunctions could be granted in cases involving EC law, but not in those turning on domestic law. This was after the European Court of Justice ruled that an injunction could be obtained against the Crown to stop the implementation of legislation incompatible with EC law.

Kenneth Baker was found guilty of contempt in his capacity as Home Secretary, which he was at the time, and was ordered to pay the costs of the case.

Guardian 28.7.93.