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Foreign crime gang boss wins deportation battle with Home Secretary

The Statue of Justice on the Old Bailey
The Statue of Justice on the Old Bailey

The foreign leader of an organised crime gang living in the UK has won a legal battle against deportation to his home country.

The crime boss, who can only be identified as 'Mr A' for legal reasons, was the subject of a high-profile secret surveillance operation that uncovered his links to the top of a notorious serious crime gang.

He was detained on the orders of the Home Secretary who said that he represents a 'serious threat to public security', and was set for deportation to a country outside the EU.

But in a secret ruling by the Court of Appeal, three judges have overturned the deportation, publicly citing only 'procedural fairness in respect of confidential matters.'

Because he is married to an EU national living in the UK, he can claim EU protection from deportation on the basis of his marriage.

The case against Mr A, who is living openly in the community, is so highly sensitive it is not possible to know the man's nationality or the precise details of the reasons for overturning the Home Secretary deportation order.

However, it can be disclosed that the evidence was partly based on secret recordings of his activities and lifestyle, and those of his family and associates. These linked him to wealth, guns and revenge attacks.

The Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the immigration and asylum upper tribunal which had previously upheld the Home Secretary's deportation order.

Sir Stephen Richards, sitting with Lord Justice Fulford and Lady Justice Nicola Davies, giving the public part of the ruling on Thursday, said: "I would dismiss grounds 2 and 3 but, for reasons given in the closed judgment, I would allow the appeal under ground 1 and would remit the case for re-hearing by a differently constituted panel of the UT."

The court defeat comes after Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA)  this month made a major breakthrough in the fight against organised crime by cracking a top-secret communications system, Encrochat, used by criminals to trade drugs and guns.

This led to the arrest of hundreds of senior crime-land figures, some of whom will be facing similar deportation orders.

A Home Office spokesperson said: ”Our priority will always be to keep the British public safe. While legal challenges can frustrate immediate deportation, foreign national offenders should be in no doubt of our determination to remove them, and since 2010 we have removed more than 53,000 criminals.

“The Home Secretary is looking into reforming the system to ensure that those who abuse our hospitality can be deported.”