The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of the Home Secretary in a deportation case, overturning an earlier decision in favour of a serious criminal facing removal to Dominica. This is the case of Secretary of State for the Home Department v Collins Cuthbert Lewis [2026] EWCA Civ 879.
The respondent, Collins Cuthbert Lewis, arrived in the UK from Dominica in 2007 aged 14. His leave expired in October 2015, and he has been living in the UK without permission ever since. In September 2019 he was sentenced to three years and nine months for possession of drugs with intent to supply, at which point the Home Office initiated deportation proceedings. In July 2024 he was convicted of further drug offences and sentenced to five years and four months’ imprisonment.
The respondent has a son who was born in 2018. He had not had any contact with his son for over six years and has never applied to the family court for contact. He also has a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder following a stabbing in 2015. He made a human rights claim, arguing that his deportation to Dominica would breach his Article 8 rights. The Home Office refused this claim and his appeal relates to this refusal.