A convicted Zimbabwean paedophile has been allowed to remain in Britain after an immigration tribunal judge ruled he would face "hostility" if deported to his home country.
The man, known only as RC, won his case after Judge Sarah Pinder accepted that deportation would breach his rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ruling blocks a Home Office deportation order, with the judge accepting lawyers' claims that as an openly gay man jailed for child sex offences, he would likely face "substantial hostility" from Zimbabwean authorities.
RC came to Britain in October 2007 at age 16 with his mother, a British citizen, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. In 2018, he was convicted and jailed for five years and three months for sexual offences against children and distributing and possessing indecent images of children.
The Royal Courts of Justice (file pic)
GETTYThe Home Office ordered his deportation in June 2021, but he fought this under Article 3 of the ECHR, arguing he would face inhumane treatment in Zimbabwe as "a gay white man" who would live openly, and as a convicted sex offender.
RC's lawyers argued his risk of persecution would be increased due to his reduced social skills from multiple health conditions, including autism, ADHD, PTSD, depression and deafness.
Judge Pinder found his "disability, being (perceived) gay, white and with a criminal record for child sex offences" would create substantial hostility from authorities. She ruled his disabilities would limit his capacity to "diffuse rather than exacerbate the hostility" he would face.
The judge also determined Zimbabwean authorities would likely discover his criminal convictions, noting RC "would likely disclose his convictions" due to not understanding their gravity.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
- 'They're unvetted!' Local FUMES at asylum seekers being offered luxury flats
- Afghan asylum seeker drives car into crowd in Munich injuring 28 just one day before security conference
- Failed Afghan asylum seeker who injured 30 by driving into crowd in Munich pictured next to Mini Cooper he ploughed through pedestrians
The Home Office
PAChris Philp, the shadow home secretary, strongly condemned the ruling, stating: "The ECHR was agreed in 1950 to stop a repeat of the atrocities of Nazi Germany. Now, judges are inventing new definitions of its articles to allow dangerous criminals, in this case a paedophile, to stay in the UK."
He added: "What if this man abuses children here again? What about the human rights of our children to be protected from him? The human rights farce that prioritises paedophiles ahead of children's safety has to end."
Judge Pinder has previously made other controversial immigration rulings, including allowing a Jamaican drug dealer convicted of domestic abuse to remain in the UK.
In that case, the judge ruled deportation would be "unduly harsh" on his children, particularly due to his relationship with his transgender child who only speaks to him about gender identity issues.
She determined the criminal's mixed race children would have "unmet emotional needs linked not just to the loss of a parent but to the loss of the parent who represents half of their cultural identity".
A Home Office spokesman told The Telegraph: “We are doing everything in our power to continue contesting this case.
"Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets, including removal from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.
“We remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring there are no barriers to deport foreign criminals, as it is in the public interest for these people to be removed swiftly.”
