An immigrant who claimed in the UK on a "false basis" is to be paid damages after a judge concluded that he had been unlawfully detained by immigration officials.
Moroccan national Mustafa Fardous won his compensation fight with Home Secretary Theresa May today when Judge Andrew Edis ruled in his favour at a High Court trial in London.
Mr Fardous claimed asylum using a false name and falsely claimed that he was from the Western Sahara, said the judge. He was detained after arriving in the UK in September 2009 and held until July 2011.
The judge concluded that eight months of that 22-month detention period had been unlawful. He said officials should have reappraised the "purpose and reasonableness" of the detention after a year.
Judge Edis said there had been delays in obtaining travel documentation for Mr Fardous from Moroccan authorities.
But he said Mr Fardous, who was now back in Morocco, showed a "real desire" to return home and therefore the risk of him absconding had reduced.
The judge also said Mr Fardous had not been a threat to public safety.
