A violent Polish serial criminal’s deportation was blocked under human rights laws after he claimed to be a “father figure” to his nephew.
An immigration tribunal judge ruled that Konrad Makocki, who has nine convictions, had a close enough relationship with his nephew for his deportation to be a breach of his right to a family life under article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Nawraz Karbani, the judge in the matter, said his teenage nephew would suffer a “disproportionate” impact if he was deported even though Macocki had “struggled with alcoholism”, been convicted of violence and was subject to a domestic abuse restraining order to prevent him approaching his ex-partner.
The Home Office has appealed the “perverse” decision, which has resulted in an upper tribunal judge setting it aside and asking for it to be reheard.
The case, disclosed in court papers, is the latest example exposed by The Telegraph where migrants or convicted foreign criminals have used human rights laws to remain in the UK or halt their deportations.
They include an Albanian criminal who avoided deportation after claiming his son had an aversion to foreign chicken nuggets, and a Pakistani paedophile jailed for child sex offences but who escaped removal from the UK as it would be “unduly harsh” on his own children.
Last week issues raised by the cases dominated Prime Minister’s Questions. Sir Keir Starmer described as “wrong” a tribunal decision to allow a Palestinian family to live in the UK after they applied through a scheme for Ukrainian refugees.
He said Parliament, not judges, should make the rules on immigration and pledged that Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, would work on closing the loophole.
Issues raised by the immigration cases dominated Prime Minister’s Questions last week
There are a record 34,169 outstanding immigration appeals, largely on human rights grounds, which threaten to hamper Labour’s efforts to fast-track the removal of thousands of illegal migrants and head off the threat from Reform UK.
‘Immigration judges out of control’
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, claimed the latest case of the Polish migrant showed immigration judges were “out of control” and stretched the definition of family life under the ECHR “ever further”.
“As a result, every day the British public are being exposed to the risk of his mindless violence,” he said.
“This immigration judge seems to care more about this violent criminal’s rights than about protecting the public here by sending him back to Poland. With each one of these shocking cases unearthed by The Telegraph, the case for radical changes to human rights law gets stronger.”
Makocki came to Britain in 2009 and has been convicted on six occasions of nine offences including assault, battery, cannabis possession, racial or religious harassment and threatening behaviour. He was jailed in 2021 for 10 months, with a two-year restraining order to prevent him from approaching his ex-partner.
The Home Office ordered his deportation shortly after he sought EU settlement in the UK. Although he had not undergone any formal rehabilitation, Makocki told the court he was “now sober and intends to stay that way”, expressed remorse and had pleaded guilty to all offences.
Judge Karbani backed his claim that deportation would be “unduly harsh” on his nephew, the threshold for an ECHR breach: “I am satisfied he offers practical assistance to his sister and nephew in a relationship akin to being a father figure, and this will not be able to continue at any comparable level if [Makocki] is deported.”
Upper tribunal judge challenges verdict
However, the verdict was challenged by Matthew Hoffman, an upper tribunal judge, who said there was “no suggestion” Makocki lived with his nephew before he was jailed or to what extent he played a part in his life.
Judge Hoffman also said he could not “discern what particular facts of the case” supported the claim that the nephew would suffer “severe or bleak” consequences from Makocki’s deportation.
“Irrespective of the fact that [Makocki] is not even the parent of the child in question, I am satisfied that the judge failed to identify any consequences that would befall the nephew that would engage the necessary degree of harshness,” he said.
Ordering the case to be reconsidered, Judge Hoffman expressed concern that it had taken two and a half years before he heard the Home Office appeal, which meant Makocki could have found a new partner, strengthening his claim to stay in the UK under article eight rights to a family life.
