MIGRANT-rights campaigners have accused the Home Office of pressuring judges not to release immigration detainees during the pandemic. 

In an official letter to a top immigration judge, the department requested written explanations for a drastic rise in the number of migrants released from detention centres in recent weeks.

The request was rebuked by First-tier Tribunal president Michael Clements, who sent a letter back stating: “As [an] independent judiciary we decide bail applications in accordance with the law.” Since the lockdown was imposed on March 23, charity Bail for Immigration Detainees (BiD) says 95 per cent of applications for bail have been approved.