Asylum seekers win Yarl's Wood child detention case

The children were held with their parents at Yarl's Wood immigration centre

The detention of two children of failed asylum seekers at Yarl's Wood immigration centre in Bedfordshire has been ruled unlawful by the High Court.

Asylum seekers Reetha Suppiah, from Malaysia, and Nigerian Sakinat Bello said the detention of their children could cause them serious harm.

The pair were arrested in February 2010 and detained with their children for between 12 and 17 days.

Government lawyers argued the detention of families was "workable and lawful".

Ms Suppiah, 37, and Ms Bello, 25, were both refused asylum and detained along with their children after UK Border Agency raids on their homes.

'Human rights breaches'

Ms Suppiah, of Bury in Greater Manchester, told the BBC she was "so shocked" when she was told of the High Court ruling.

"I said, 'Thank you Lord' - not only for me but for other women," she said.

She said the "scars" of staying at the centre remained with her family.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams, sitting at the High Court in London, ruled the policy itself was not unlawful, but had been applied in an unlawful way.

He ruled: "The claimants were detained unlawfully from the time they were taken into custody until their release."

The judge said they had suffered human rights breaches and were entitled to claim damages.

There was a significant body of evidence which demonstrated the UK Border Agency had failed to apply that policy "with the rigour it deserves", the judge said.

BBC News correspondent Dominic Casciani, at the High Court, added: "The two families were detained prior to the coalition government's decision to close the family unit for failed asylum seekers as part of its commitment to end the detention of children.

'Disappointed by decision'

"But the judgement paves the way for the claimants to sue for damages."

David Wood, of the UK Border Agency, said: "In December the government announced the immediate closure of Yarl's Wood to children.

"The government said it would end the detention of children for immigration purposes and that's been done.

"However, we are disappointed by the High Court's findings in relation to two specific cases but will not be seeking permission to appeal at this stage."

He said the UK Border Agency would be studying the judgement to see if there were lessons to learn.

He added: "We are pleased that the court has concluded that the relevant policy in relation to the detention of children and families at the time of this detention was lawful."