Home Office ordered to pay £90,000 to homeless Polish couple illegally detained for five months over rough sleeping

Henry Sadlowski, one of two held illegally for 154 days, died shortly after Christmas

The Home Office has been ordered to pay £90,000 in damages to a homeless Polish couple who were unlawfully detained for more than five months due to rough sleeping.

Iowna Deptka, 33, and Henry Sadlowski, 38, were held for 154 days as part of a policy to deport European Economic Area (EEA) nationals found rough sleeping, known as Operation Gopik.

In December 2017, the High Court said the policy was discriminatory and unlawful under EU law.

At a hearing on Friday, Mr Justice Soole awarded Ms Deptka and Mr Sadlowski £44,500 each.

However, damages for Mr Sadlowski, who died shortly after Christmas, will be paid to his family in Poland.

The couple were first detained in March 2017 and initially separated at different immigration removal centres (IRCs) for four weeks.

Following the High Court’s December ruling, the Home Office admitted the pair had been unlawfully detained.

Shortly before the 2017 High Court ruling, the European Commision said EU citizens had a right to live in other EU countries “irrespective of whether they are homeless or not”.

Ms Deptka said she was “absolutely terrified” while being held in a separate centre to Mr Sadlowski.

“I was so scared. The banging of the doors and the shouts of those detained, I was suicidal,” she said in her witness statement.

Mr Sadlowski said a detention officer told him they could “crush” Ms Deptka if they wanted to.

The couple were awarded basic damages of £35,000 each and an additional £8,500 each in aggravated damages as a result of the Home Office’s “undue delay in admitting liability” and its “delay in making any apology until this present hearing”.

Although the couple were eventually reunited in a family unit at Yarl’s Wood IRC after “repeated requests”, Mr Justice Soole ruled they were entitled to aggravated damages for their separation.

The judge said the distress from the separation “was heightened by [Ms Deptka’s] emotional vulnerability” and Mr Sadlowski’s knowledge of her vulnerability.

The couple were also awarded £1,000 each for the imposition of unlawful reporting requirements when they were released from detention.

Agencies contributed to this report