MER, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department

Facts

The applicant, identified only as MER, brought proceedings in the Administrative Court against the Secretary of State for the Home Department concerning the detention in which he was held. The matter had already been dealt with by Hill J on the papers and by Foster J at an interim relief hearing. The effect of those orders was that the case was recognised as one in which the applicant had to be released from detention. Foster J's order, made at the end of July, set out a timetable towards that result, and the Secretary of State was ordered to pay the applicant's costs of that hearing. The timetable could not be met because of the time taken to carry out what the court regarded as essential checks. The applicant therefore made a further urgent application for interim relief, which was listed during the court vacation before Kimblin J and heard over a morning and afternoon. The parties cooperated and produced a draft order, which the judge amended and on which both sides made further submissions. A provision aimed at securing medical assistance for the applicant became agreed. The judgment also refers to licence provisions governing the applicant's behaviour, on which the Metropolitan Police were to liaise with the Probation Service. Only two matters remained in dispute: the Secretary of State's obligation in respect of alternative accommodation, and costs.