A v The Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The appellant is a Zimbabwean national, born on 27 August 1991, who came to the United Kingdom in December 2004 aged 13 and held leave to remain from 15 October 2009 until 18 May 2018, when the Secretary of State signed a deportation order against him. His offending began in 2012 and included convictions for possession with intent to supply, a three-year sentence imposed in November 2015 and a five-year sentence imposed in 2019. Following the refusal of an earlier protection and human rights claim, Judge of the First-tier Tribunal Abdar dismissed his appeal in a decision promulgated on 24 June 2024 after a hearing on 12 March 2024, finding Exception 2 met but no very compelling circumstances. The appellant made further submissions, which the Secretary of State refused on 3 March 2026, giving rise to the present appeal. Meanwhile, on 16 April 2025 he was sentenced to 67 months and 9 days for seven counts of drug trafficking committed between 31 August 2023 and his arrest on 17 July 2024 — offending that continued while he gave evidence before Judge Abdar. He relied on four changes since that decision: the birth of his younger daughter E in late November 2024, his partner P's diagnosis of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis, his elder daughter D's focal epilepsy, and the further offending itself.