Immigration judges targeted by far right after Tory MP’s campaign

Judiciary forced to flee their homes following Robert Jenrick’s threats to remove ‘activists’

- James Tapper

Living with an immigration judge was never supposed to be a high-octane affair. But the humdrum of tribunal life was interrupted a few months ago when the threats started.

“We had to leave our home ~ we had less than 24 hours to get out,” the partner of one judge said. They called the police, stayed with friends, and tried to make sense of how their lives had been upended.

“It completely removes your feeling of security in your home;’ the partner said. “You worry that your children will somehow get caught up in this. It turns your life upside down and nothing feels secure afterwards.”

The ordeal started after Robert Jenrick began a campaign highlighting what the shadow justice secretary described as “activist judges”. After months of news reports and feverish online rhetoric about immigration tribunal decisions, in April the Tory frontbencher began naming judges on social media. Jenrick pledged that under his regime, “biased judges will be sacked automatically” and at the Conservative party conference last month he revealed he had compiled a list of more than 30 judges who he claimed had links to “open border charities”. His posts have been circulated among far-right groups online.

An Observer investigation has established that at least six immigration judges have been subjected to threats since April. At least two immigration judges have been advised to move home. Some have had their home addresses published on social media by far-right activists. One judge received a threat saying: “We know which bus your child catches”.