Asylum seeker who lied about age loses appeal

An asylum seeker found to have "deliberately sought to mislead" about his age after arriving in the UK in a small boat has lost a challenge against the decision at the Court of Appeal.

The Sudanese man, known only as AI, arrived in the UK in October 2021 and was assigned a date of birth of 20 April 1998 by the Home Office, making him an adult at the time.

But he claimed he was born in August 2004, which would have made him a child at the time and meant West Berkshire Council would have owed him certain duties.

The authority undertook age assessments and adopted the Home Office's date, which saw him relocated. He was granted asylum in 2023.

AI challenged the council's decision over his age in 2022 after a judge at an Upper Tribunal found he was an adult when he entered the UK.

The judge found he had lied about his schooling, the means he came to the country and his age.

The Court of Appeal dismissed a claim that insufficient reasons were given by the Upper Tribunal to reach that decision, with three judges finding they were "sufficiently adequate".

Tuesday's judgment said AI's asylum claim was "based on threats to his safety" posed by the Janjaweed militia, who had allegedly killed his father and kidnapped his brother.

Dismissing AI's appeal on Tuesday, Lord Justice Singh, sitting with Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Arnold, said "the reality of this case was that the appellant had lied to the Upper Tribunal in respect of the crucial issue of his date of birth".

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