Report comment

Mr Maloney, the figures were provided to address - (what appeared to me to be alarmist disdain for immigrant detainees in the comments section) & to highlight that not just criminals are detained under Immigration powers, but also vulnerable persons such as children. (Updated figures can be found on the ONS site). I am not convinced there are any just, credible or cogent reasons justifying keeping children in detention. There may be a rare case but it would need to be very convincing.

I would really like to help you and provide you with a definitive answer to your question. Unfortunately, I do not have the resources or even the tools to measure ''suffering'' or ''injustice'' as a result of legal aid bureaucracy. If I were an academic & had the relevant funding &/or had paid sabbatical leave I am confident that I could provide a partial answer - but it would take some time to compile. I have worked in the private sector all my legal life (not legal aid) and Immigration detainees (clients) - were suffering injustice for all sorts of reasons (too many to list here). Many were not & are not the kinds of criminals you hear about in the tabloid press.

Anonymous’ does make a good point that ‘‘the injustice suffered by those affected is by no means a simple matter and are insidiously repugnant and have no place in a truly democratic society’’.

Also it was the Bar Council who commissioned the Independent Report into this area (not moi).

I would also refer you back to the opening paragraphs of Ms Fouzder’s article - that ‘‘immigration detainees are being deported because administrative hurdles are deterring legal aid solicitors from taking up viable judicial review cases, an independent report commissioned by the Bar Council suggests. Even though immigration detention is in scope for legal aid, the Injustice in Immigration Detention Report, published today, says the UK legal landscape is failing detainees’.

After reading the full Report & studying it I hope that you find your answer. If you don’t find the answer you could always contact the commissioner of this Independent Report, the Bar Council ( whose members are classically known to be guardians of the ‘law’ & who take ownership of how law is working in practice - & whose work is to (amongst other things I hope) to advocate & defend the rights, liberties, freedoms and privileges of nationals of this country – but also of anyone else who is deserving of that & to play a role in uncovering unjust legal mechanisms).

If all of the above fails & you are still searching for the answer and haven’t found out I would advise you to go undercover (as do investigative journalists). It's high-risk doing undercover operations but there's a strong chance you might find an answer after spending some ‘quality’ time - inside a n Immigration detention centre. (I would be happy to assist you in doing a 'head-count'). A list of these Centres can be found on the Home Office website.