Why was a Congolese paedophile allowed to stay in the UK?

Yet another scandal has been sparked by the UK’s fealty to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Last week, the Telegraph revealed that a paedophile convicted of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter has been allowed to remain in the UK. Supposedly, deporting him would have breached his human rights.

As reported in the Telegraph, the child sex abuser in question – who is referred to in legal papers as ‘MD’ – is from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa and lives in the Glasgow area. In 2020, he was imprisoned for three years for ‘appalling’ offences such as sexual penetration and sexual assault against his stepdaughter, as well as two other young girls in the family.

The Home Office had initially ordered for MD to be deported to his home country, but he appealed. Despite the severity of these crimes, an immigration tribunal ruled that deporting him would breach his ‘right to family life’, which is enshrined in Article 8 of the ECHR. In a ruling published last month, the tribunal judge claimed that deportation would have a negative impact on the wellbeing of MD’s wife and their three biological children (who were not victims of the sexual offences). Remarkably, the tribunal made this decision while acknowledging that he ‘continues to pose a risk to the community, in particular children’.

Thankfully, the Home Office has won the right to appeal this decision and a new hearing will be held this month. This is on the grounds that, incredibly, the potential risk that MD posed to both his stepdaughter and his biological children was not initially taken into account by the tribunal.

This is one of many examples of British courts and tribunals prioritising the rights of dangerous criminals over the safety of the public – in this case, a convicted paedophile whom the authorities still consider to be a threat to children. This is not only reckless, but also cruel. This man is allowed to live freely in Glasgow and to see his biological children, despite the fact they still live with his stepdaughter. How can this be remotely acceptable? One of the key markers of a civilised and decent society is how seriously it takes its duty of care to children. On this front, Britain – a supposedly mature and advanced democracy – is failing miserably.

Quite rightly, this ruling will inject further energy into existing calls for the UK to re-evaluate its relationship with international human-rights conventions. And while the UK certainly needs a proper reckoning with the ECHR, it is also worth recognising how the British courts and tribunals are selectively interpreting its provisions.

There is no doubt that the British justice system has had its hands tied by the ECHR. At the same time, it British judges have been all too willing to ignore Article 8(2) of the ECHR, which clearly states that authorities can ‘interfere’ in the right to family life should this be ‘necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or… for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others’. Surely, there are strong grounds to ‘interfere’ in this paedophile’s ‘right to family life’, by removing him from the country, especially when his own family were among his victims and are now being placed at needless risk?

Until we confront these facts, there will be many more similar cases. Just last month, it was revealed that a deported Albanian criminal had won the right to stay in the UK, despite returning to the country illegally. According to the ECHR, deporting him again would have breached Article 8, because he had fathered a child with his Lithuanian wife since returning.

It is clear that the UK’s relationship with the ECHR needs a serious reckoning. We should not prioritise appeasing a foreign court over the safety of our own people. A government should have the freedom to protect its citizens from dangerous criminals. It is shameful that ours does not.

Rakib Ehsan is the author of Beyond Grievance: What the Left Gets Wrong about Ethnic Minorities, which is available to order on Amazon.