P3 (Appellant) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent).

Ashley Underwood QC appeared before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) as a Special Advocate in the case of P3 (Appellant) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent).Ashley was instructed by the Special Advocates and was leading Dominic Lewis at 5 Paper Buildings.

The Respondent obtained an Order under s40(2) British Nationality Act 1981 to deprive P3 of his British citizenship. P3 is an Iraqi national who was granted British citizenship in 2003. The Respondent obtained the order on the basis that P3 had links with Iranian intelligence services. The appeal concerned P3’s application for entry clearance to the UK in order to have an effective deprivation appeal.

SIAC held that whilst P3 was outside of the jurisdiction of the ECHR for the purposes of Article 1, as his wife and children, all of whom are British citizens, are present and settled in the UK, they acted as the “jurisdictional peg” for P3 to engage the ECHR.

Turning to P3’s Article 8 rights balanced against the threat to national security. SIAC held that P3 had a very powerful Article 8 case. His mental health and family life were significantly affected. Returning to the UK would improve this (Article 8 substantive). Returning to the UK would also allow him to give effective instructions to his legal team (Article 8 procedural). They held that the Home Department’s national security case is not a serious one, concluding that on balance P3’s Article 8 rights win out, allowing his appeal.

To view a detailed Judgment Summary please click here.

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