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Duncan Lewis Solicitors has been at the centre of some of the most controversial immigration cases of the past year, notably a Court of Appeal showdown with the government over its plan to remove asylum seekers to Rwanda. The Court of Appeal’s verdict, which stunned the government when it was delivered, reversed the High Court’s decision that Rwanda was a safe third country for asylum seekers. Giving the judgment, Lord Burnett of Maldon, at the time the lord chief justice, said that the court had ruled by a majority that “unless and until the deficiencies in its asylum processes are corrected, removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda will be unlawful”. However, he said that he disagreed with the other two judges. The Supreme Court recently heard appeals against the ruling by the government and the claimants.
Other recent successes have included involvement in efforts to close the controversial Manston House holding centre for migrants in Kent. At one point Manston, which has a capacity of 1,600, was holding more than 4,000 people. The overcrowding triggered outbreaks of communicable diseases, including scabies and diphtheria, from which one man, who had potentially been held there unlawfully, died.
The firm sent a pre-action letter on behalf of the Detention Action charity, the Public and Commercial Services Union and an individual female asylum seeker, challenging the decision of the home secretary to permit the detention and mistreatment of the people held, which led to its closure.
It also successfully represented a former Afghan interpreter in an application for permission for a judicial review. It concerned the secretary of state’s refusal to endorse the application of the anonymous claimant — who was working for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office — for the resettlement of additional family members outside the rules under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy.
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One of the claimant’s siblings, known only as AB, was apprehended by the Taliban and 14 other members of his family were in hiding and had become wholly reliant on him for financial support.
In inquest work, the firm represented the partner of Stewart John Stanley, a Portsmouth steel erector who died at HMP Exeter. Three days after being assaulted in prison, Stanley was moved on to the same wing as the prisoner suspected of the attack. He became concerned that the man was going to harm him and told staff that he would rather harm himself than be harmed by others.
The jury found that failures by prison staff contributed to the death. It concluded that the risk that Stanley might have taken his own life should have been better appreciated and that policies designed to reduce such a risk did not work appropriately.
Established in 1998, Duncan Lewis originally operated from a single office in Hackney, east London, and specialised in four practice areas. It has grown to have offices across the capital and throughout England and Wales, boasts a nationwide presence in 25 practice areas and is one of the largest legal aid services providers.
★ Commended for family; immigration
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