Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID) reported today that it has succeeded in persuading the Home Office to reverse its decision to redact particular parts of its Country Returns Documentation Guide following an appeal brought by BID to the First-tier Tribunal.
You can read the unredacted Home Office guidance here in .xls format.
According to BID, 95% of what was previously redacted has now been published, though limited country-specific information for Cuba and Kuwait remains redacted.
BID notes that the Country Returns Documentation Guide contains information relating to the timescales and obstacles for obtaining travel documents to enable the removal of foreign nationals from the UK. In particular, it contains information on the prospect of obtaining Emergency Travel Documents (ETDs).
BID's Assistant Director Pierre Makhlouf said he was delighted to secure the release of the guidance: "This document is vital in bringing at least some transparency to the immigration bail process and we're very satisfied that it will once again be in the public domain."
Makhlouf addeed: "The Country Returns Documentation Guide is vital for people detained under immigration powers. It allows them to have all the information at their disposal when they put forward their case for bail, and prevents the Home Office from asserting that their removal is imminent when it is not.
"Where the evidence shows that removal is not possible, or not imminent, continued detention may be unlawful. Individuals should not continue to be detained if it is not possible to obtain a travel document."
Makhlouf also praised BID's pro bono legal team of Timothy Pitt-Payne QC and Tom Cross of 11 King's Bench Walk, and James Neil, Andrew Denny, Maeve Hannah and Peter Tolson of Allen and Overy Solicitors.