Boat Migrants Win £500k hand out After Phone Seizure Ruling

More than 70 small-boat migrants are in line for taxpayer-funded compensation totalling nearly £500,000 after the High Court ruled the Home Office acted unlawfully by seizing their mobile phones on arrival.

The controversial policy, introduced during the 2020 Channel crossings surge, saw asylum seekers’ phones and SIM cards confiscated — with thousands of devices reportedly subjected to full data downloads.

Judges later ruled the blanket policy breached Article 8 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. In 2022, the High Court found the unpublished seizure scheme unlawful, with Lord Justice Edis confirming the then-Home Secretary Priti Patel accepted it “was not in accordance with the law.”

So far, 32 migrants have received payouts totalling £210,800 — an average of £6,587 each. A further 41 claims remain unresolved, potentially pushing the total close to £500,000. At the time of the ruling, up to 1,323 individuals were identified as possible claimants, fuelling estimates the final bill could reach £8 million.

The Home Office has already spent £735,000 contesting the case.

The original legal challenge was brought by three asylum seekers, identified only as HM, MA and KH. Evidence heard in court claimed nearly 2,000 phones were seized between April and November 2020, with some migrants allegedly pressured into handing over PIN codes. Extracted data was reportedly fed into an intelligence system known as “Project Sunshine.”

Critics reacted furiously. Reform MP Robert Jenrick called the payouts “a farce and total waste of taxpayers’ money,” while campaign groups said the system appeared to reward illegal entry.

Ministers have since passed fresh legislation explicitly allowing authorities to seize electronic devices from migrants. Phone confiscations resumed recently at Manston processing centre as part of a renewed anti-smuggling crackdown.

Key Takeaways

1. £500k Payout So Far – 32 migrants compensated, with more claims pending.

2. Policy Ruled Unlawful – High Court found the blanket phone seizure breached human rights law.

3. Law Now Changed – Government has since legislated to permit phone seizures going forward.

SOURCE: DAILY MAIL

It is quite a remarkable testament to the quality of many mobile phones that whilst passports and so many other documents entirely fail to cope with the rigours of crossing the Channel in a rubber dinghy, these mobile phones invariably seem to survive!

So we can't afford local elections but we can afford this?

Britain is a loony bin.