SIAC upholds deportation on national security grounds

In a judgment handed down last week, SIAC dismissed an appeal against a decision to deport a foreign national who was assessed to have been planning a terrorist attack in the UK. The appellant argued that he was not a national security risk, and that his deportation would in any event be in breach of the UK’s obligations under the Refugee Convention and the ECHR. SIAC determined that the Secretary of State had properly concluded that the appellant was a national security risk (and that the appellant therefore fell to be excluded under Article 1F(c) of the Refugee Convention on the basis that there were serious reasons for considering that the appellant had been guilty of acts contrary to the purpose and principles of the United Nations), and otherwise concluded that the appellant would not be at real risk of harm if returned to his home country. David Blundell QC and Andrew Byass acted for the Secretary of State.