BB v Secretary of State for the Home Department: tribunal sets directions in deportation appeal

The First-tier Tribunal has issued detailed case management directions in the deportation appeal of a Jamaican national referred to only as BB, following his conviction for serious sexual offences against a child.

BB, subject to a Home Office decision dated 29 May 2026 refusing his protection and human rights claims, lodged his appeal in June 2026. He was sentenced to an aggregate term of 16 years' imprisonment in March 2014, and the Home Office has certified his protection claim under section 72 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002, which raises presumptions that he was convicted of a particularly serious crime and constitutes a danger to the community. An earlier deportation appeal was dismissed by the tribunal in a judgement promulgated in August 2022, the findings of which form the starting point for the present appeal.

The case management hearing, held remotely before Tribunal Judge Aspinall, addressed a series of administrative and evidential gaps. BB, who appeared unrepresented and confirmed he had since been released from custody, told the tribunal he had not received the Home Office's bundle and had no access to the online case record. The tribunal's own record continued, incorrectly, to show him as detained and recorded his former prison address rather than his current one.

Judge Aspinall directed that BB's status be updated and ordered the Home Office to serve a complete paper bundle, including the 2022 decision, by 11 September 2026. The Home Office was further directed to clarify, by 18 September 2026, the present status of a deportation order dated 16 February 2021, including why it had not been enforced and whether BB retains any outstanding right of challenge.

BB was told plainly that the tribunal could not revisit the correctness of his convictions, which stand unless set aside by a court with jurisdiction to do so, and that his appeal could instead address whether he now presents a danger to the community. He was directed to file a witness statement and supporting evidence by 30 September 2026, addressing the section 72 presumptions, his claimed risk on return to Jamaica, the availability of state protection and internal relocation, any medical conditions relied upon, and his family and private life, including his relationship with a child who remains under 18.

The judge set out the demanding threshold applicable to an Article 3 medical claim and the requirement, given the length of the sentence imposed, to demonstrate very compelling circumstances over and above the statutory exceptions to deportation under section 117C of the 2002 Act. No new matter requiring the Home Office's consent was identified at the hearing.

Directions also required the Home Office to redact any material relating to victims, children or other third parties before service, and confirmed that material relied upon must not be withheld until the final hearing. Following receipt of BB's evidence, the Home Office must file a review within 14 days, after which the case will be referred for further directions and listed for a substantive hearing.

The tribunal's anonymity order, made under rule 13(1)(b) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Rules 2014, remains in force, prohibiting publication of any information likely to identify BB, including his name or address.