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25 January 2007
Issue: 7257 / Categories: Features , Immigration & asylum , Community care
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community care/asylum support

R (Binomugisha) v Southwark LBC [2006] EWHC 2254 (Admin), [2006] All ER (D) 83 (Sep)

FRESH ASYLUM CLAIMS

The decision of the High Court in R (Binomugisha) v Southwark LBC makes it difficult for a local social services authority to refuse to accommodate a failed asylum seeker who makes what purports to be a fresh asylum or human rights claim to remain in the UK if:
(i) the individual is one of the more vulnerable individuals who, as asylum seekers, were
accommodated by local authorities; and
(ii) the purported fresh claim is not manifestly unfounded.

At a more general level, this case and the following case illustrate a reluctance on the part of the courts to assist the government in the implementation of immigration decisions.

The facts

Binomugisha, a Ugandan national, arrived in the UK aged 15 in October 2002. He entered the UK on a false passport and, accordingly, was (and is) in the UK in breach of the immigration laws. In
October 2003, aged 16, he claimed asylum. He was referred to Southwark London Borough Council,

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Cripps—Radius Law

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NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
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