The High Court in Belfast has ruled that key elements of the UK’s Illegal Migration Act are incompatible with the Windsor framework and should not be applied in Northern Ireland. Once again, Northern Ireland appears to be a block on the Brexit ambition to “take back control of our borders”.
This time, though, the implications go beyond the island of Ireland. The judgement reaches across the Irish Sea to the core of the UK’s post-Brexit immigration policy. The court found that parts of the act, which gave the government expansive powers to remove asylum seekers, violate the human rights of those seeking refuge in Northern Ireland.
Unsurprisingly, the government has vowed to appeal. But the ruling has already exposed something about the UK.
