International Removals
Immigration Enforcement: Escorting of International Removals
PCS details its dealings with the Department on the issue of IE staff volunteering to undertake the escorting of International removals, the Departmental position, PCS’ concerns, and our advice to members.
PCS National Executive Committee election
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President: Fran Heathcote
Vice Presidents: Martin Cavanagh (Merseyside), Kevin McHugh, Zita Holbourne, Jackie Green
Ordinary Members: Mark Baker, Paula Brown, Clive Bryant, Bridget Corcoran, James Cox (Home Office), Harvey Crane, David Hannah, Sarah Ensor, Felicity Flynn, Jimmy Gill, Angela Grant (Merseyside), Sam Hall, Robert Eagleton, Austin Harney, Adrian Hedley, Kris Hendry, Ros Hewitt, Tracy Hylton (Merseyside), John Jamieson, Liz McGachey, Jas McGuinness, John Maguire, Lorna Merry, Marianne Owens, Ian Pope, Steve Swainston, Steve Thorley, Karen Watts, Hector Wesley, Paul Williams.
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Background
In late 2020 PCS heard references (in unconnected meetings) to IE staff being trained to undertake the escorting of International removals on charter flights. PCS contacted the Department to ask if this was indeed happening and discovered that preparation for training staff had begun as early as June 2020, whilst legal advice had been sought by the Department on this issue in September 2020. PCS had until that point not been consulted on the issue. There then followed multiple communications and two dedicated meetings where PCS raised our concerns about the potential risks to members, and repeatedly requested a copy of the Departmental legal advice.
Departmental Position
In order to offset the risk of Mitie being unable to carry out removals due to large groups of their staff contracting Covid or self isolating, the Home Office stated that it wished to train substantive arrest-trained IE staff (from ICE teams) in how to escort removals on International charter flights. They emphasised that all the staff concerned had volunteered to undertake the escort training. They stated that their legal advice supporting this activity was based on 3 sets of powers, namely:
Immigration Act 1971 (the 1971 Act)
Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (the 1999 Act)
Civil Aviation Act 1982 (the 1982 Act)
However the scoping document shown to PCS stated clearly that Home Office Legal Advisors (HOLA) had concerns at the legal protection that staff would have on board non-UK aircraft, in extra territorial airspace and in other countries should force be used.
PCS Concerns
Our primary concerns could be defined as follows:
Staff may be legally vulnerable if they carry out restraint outside their core business role on an individual being removed;
Staff may be liable to prosecution by a foreign government if somebody is injured during an assault either on board a non-UK aircraft or whilst in foreign territory;
Staff will not be able to make a claim against the Home Office if they are injured during a removal if the injury occurs outside of UK;
What is the legal basis for use of force by Home Office staff outside the UK?;
What medical and welfare support mechanism will be available to staff in relation to injury sustained or any ongoing health condition or disability should they be delayed overseas?
As a result PCS made repeated requests to see the Departmental legal advice, to allay our concerns.
Departmental Response
In response the Home Office stated that they believed that the IO’s power to detain under Schedule 2, paragraph 16(2)(b) of the 1971 Act continues until the removal process is complete, and that Section 146(1) of the Immigration & Asylum Act 1999 provides that an IO may, if necessary, use reasonable force in exercising powers conferred by the Immigration Acts. They also stated that if an IO was injured during an overseas escorted removal and in the course of their duties, the HO would be highly likely to provide medical treatment and other welfare support arrangements regardless of location.
However, crucially, the Home Office informed us that they would not give us sight of the relevant legal advice.
PCS Advice
If members choose to volunteer for the flight escorting role without absolute clarity around the legal position being available to them or to PCS then they must understand that there may be consequences about the level of support available (both from the Department and from PCS) if any issues arise in connection with that voluntary uptake of the flight escort role. Our advice would therefore be that members need to consider these aspects very carefully before they volunteer for this role. PCS consider the absence of clear legal advice to be very worrying, and members need to be aware of those concerns.