GREEDY lawyers are to be banned from mounting last-ditch appeals to prevent foreign criminals being kicked out of Britain.
Ministers will this week unveil plans to streamline the immigration and asylum system to cut abuse, delays and costs.
Hundreds of crooks who entered Britain illegally — including murderers and rapists — have been granted “stay of execution” hearings, often as jets were ready to fly them out. Under current rules a migrant has the right to have an appeal considered by four other judges if his case is rejected at a tribunal.
An independent panel of legal experts found that only 12 out of 5,500 judicial review applications were successful.
Yet since 2017 eight law firms handling immigration cases have received £42million in taxpayer-funded legal aid.
The independent review will recommend that the legal process in immigration and asylum cases should end at the Upper Immigration Tribunal stage, so halting the practice of repeated legal challenges.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, who has accused lawyers of “taking the public for a ride” by inventing grounds for appeal, is expected to consult on overhauling the process.
A Ministry of Justice source said: “The panel found clear instances of the courts getting things wrong.
“The current process has led to a deluge of hopeless judicial reviews being brought by immigration lawyers which cost taxpayers dearly and prevented the removal of people who have no legal right to be in the country.
“This is completely wrong and we are going to sort it out.”
The shake-up will be the first major step towards fixing the “broken” asylum system which costs the UK £1billion a year.
It can see activist lawyers making appeals at the last minute despite having months to work on cases, and judges called late at night.
In one case, a Jamaican criminal who fought deportation by claiming it breached his rights was later charged with murder.
In another, a Nigerian fraudster was allowed to remain after claiming at the last minute that he was bisexual and would not be able to live openly in his home country.
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