UK Government breached rights of Jamaican, Ghanaian men by denying them citizenship - High Court

The UK High Court has ruled that a Jamaican man and a Ghanaian national who are members of  the Windrush generation had their human rights breached when the Home Office refused to grant them citizenship.

The court heard that Vernon Vanriel, who migrated from Jamaica as a 6 year old in 1962, and the second applicant, Eunice Tumi, were refused citizenship after being told by the Home Secretary they did not fulfill the residence requirement of  having been in the UK on the date five years before they made the application.

It was discovered that they could not fulfill the requirement  because the Home Secretary had unlawfully prevented them from re-entering the UK after periods spent abroad.

According to a report in the Guardian newspaper, the two persons at the centre of  the case were granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK after the Windrush scandal emerged three years ago, but were both subsequently denied British citizenship.

On Friday hoewver Mr Justice Bourne ruled that the Home Secretary had discretion about applying the five-year rule when considering citizenship applications.

The ruling is likely to have significant implications for other members of  the Windrush generation in similar situations.

Lawyers for the two successful claimants said the case showed the Home Office continued to act in breach of  the human rights of  Windrush victims by refusing to recognise them as British.

According to government data, 11,000 people have been refused citizenship following applications under the Windrush scheme.

While not all will benefit from Friday's ruling, many will now be able to reapply.

Mr. Vanriel, who is 66 and a former boxer who lived in London for 43 years, was prevented from returning to the UK after a trip to Jamaica in 2005.

He spent 13 years destitute in Jamaica before the Windrush scandal broke and was allowed to return to his family in Britain.