We deserve better than Boris Johnson's latest ‘us versus them’ battle in the courts

Editorial: The decision to remove people from a deportation flight to Jamaica was not a political one: the prime minister should adopt a new approach

A number of protests have been held over the latest deportation flight (Getty)

The deportation of 17 “foreign national offenders” to Jamaica has been a sorry saga. Boris Johnson’s government has seized on the affair to advertise its toughness on both crime and immigration, while portraying Labour as soft on these issues.

Not satisfied with that, the prime minister is now trying to exploit the controversy a third time, by using it to justify his controversial plans to clip the judiciary’s wings. A paragraph in the Conservative Party manifesto in December said: “After Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution: the relationship between the government, parliament and the courts.” The Tories pledged: “We will ensure that judicial review is available to protect the rights of the individuals against an overbearing state, while ensuring that it is not abused to conduct politics by another means or to create needless delays.” A constitution, democracy and rights commission would examine these issues in depth.

When judicial review is used to protect the rights of people who have lived in the UK since they were children, the government seems to take a rather different view. True, some of those it wanted to deport have committed serious offences and might have been deemed a risk by the criminal justice system. But some have shown no sign of reoffending since their release from prison, have families in the UK and have no links with Jamaica. One is said to have served in the British army in Afghanistan and to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Mr Johnson is frustrated that last-minute legal action halted the deportation of 25 of those due to be sent to the Caribbean.