Trenton Oldfield, the protester who jumped into the Thames during the Oxford Cambridge boat race last year to highlight inequality in Britain, has won his appeal against the Home Secretary Theresa May’s decision to deny him a visa to stay in the UK with his wife and son. The Home Secretary’ decision would have resulted in Oldfield’s deportation back to Australia. Following the protest, the Home Secretary deemed Oldfield’s presence in the UK as “undesirable” and “not conductive to the public good”. Mr Oldfield was handed down a six month sentence for his protest. He was released having served six weeks. In the UK, foreigners who serve sentences of 12 months or less may be deported at the discretion of the Home Secretary.
Click here to read a brief summary of the court proceedings in the Independent newspaper.
At the end of the hearing, the immigration tribunal judge, Kevin Moore addressed Oldfield: “There is no doubt as to your character and commitment and the value you are to UK society generally. It would appear to me from the evidence and the submissions that have been made on your behalf that it would be my intention to allow your appeal.” The judge did not give his full reasoning for the decision but assured those present that they would follow in a weeks time.
Outside the immigration tribunal, Stephanie Harrison, Mr Oldfield’s legal representative spoke of the importance of Judge Moore’s decision: “any independent judge upholding the law was bound to recognise that this wasn’t justified.” Remarking on the Home Secretary’s decision in the first place to deport Mr Oldfield she said “it shows that she (the home secretary) only focussed on one aspect of her responsibility . . . [S]he didn’t give the case the proper care or attention that it deserved.”
Click here to read an article in the Guardian.