AC-2025-LON-000997 - [2025] EWHC 1970 (Admin)

The claimants are a Palestinian family: a father (who has been given the cipher BEL), a mother (BEB), two young adults (BCC and BEC) and two children aged 9 and 7 (BKJ and BDM). They live in Gaza, where they have very little food and no effective sanitation. BEL, BCC and BEC have been fired upon by Israeli forces close to one of the very small number of aid distribution sites. BEC was struck by shrapnel from a tank shell. BEL was also injured. They have not been able to access proper medical treatment. The family remains at constant risk of injury or death.

BEL’s brother (BSJ) is a British citizen, who lives in the UK. In January 2024, the claimants applied for leave to enter the UK outside the Immigration Rules (“IRs”) to join him. The application was refused. They appealed unsuccessfully to the First-tier Tribunal (“FTT”). On 13 January 2025, the Upper Tribunal (“UT”) allowed the family’s further appeal on the ground that the refusal was incompatible with the UK’s obligations under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR”). The Home Secretary confirmed that she would not seek to appeal and that she would grant the family leave to enter the UK, conditional on satisfactory completion of biometric checks at a Visa Application Centre (“VAC”).

There is no VAC in Gaza. The closest one that is available to the claimants is in Jordan. The crossing between Gaza and Egypt at Rafah is no longer open. The only way out is through Israel, using the crossing at Kerem Shalom, but exit requires the permission of the Israeli Government. The Israeli Government will only give this permission at the request of the government of another state. On 3 February 2025, the claimants applied to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (“FCDO”) for consular assistance to enable them to leave. This led to the series of refusals challenged in these proceedings.

On 5 February 2025, the Secretary of State refused to provide assistance, but later agreed to reconsider. On 12 March 2025, the Defendant again refused, on the basis that the claimants did not meet the published criteria for assistance leaving Gaza and their circumstances were not sufficiently exceptional to qualify for assistance outside those criteria. This claim was filed on 2 April 2025. Directions were given leading to a rolled-up hearing, fixed for 5 June 2025.

On 30 May 2025, the Secretary of State agreed to reconsider the refusal in the light of developments post-dating the claim. I vacated the rolled-up hearing but gave directions for a reconsideration within 7 days, leading to an expedited rolled-up hearing if the refusal was maintained. A further decision maintaining the refusal was made on 6 June 2025.

The hearing took place on 9 July 2025. The parties filed a core hearing bundle running to 399 pages, a supplementary hearing bundle running to 300 pages and a further supplementary hearing bundle running to 83 pages. They also filed three authorities bundles running to 516 pages, 1,367 pages and 112 pages respectively.

The present claim is advanced on two grounds. Ground 1 is that the refusal on 6 June 2025 (i) was irrational, (ii) was procedurally unfair and (iii) failed properly to apply the Secretary of State’s own policy. Ground 2 is that the ongoing refusal to provide consular assistance is incompatible with the positive obligations of the UK under Article 8 ECHR and was therefore contrary to s. 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA”).