QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Royal Courts of Justice Strand London WC2A 2LL |
||
B e f o r e :
____________________
THE QUEEN ON THE APPLICATION OF THOMPSON | Claimant | |
v | ||
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT | Defendant |
____________________
WordWave International Limited
A Merrill Communications Company
190 Fleet Street London EC4A 2AG
Tel No: 020 7404 1400 Fax No: 020 7831 8838
(Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
Mr R Dunlop (instructed by the Treasury Solicitor) appeared on behalf of the Defendant
____________________
Crown Copyright ©
"The court reiterates that where an individual is taken into custody in good health but is found to be injured at the time of release, it is incumbent on the State to provide a full explanation of how those injuries were caused and to produce evidence casting doubt on the veracity of the victim's allegations, particularly if those allegation are backed up by medical reports."
In paragraph 30 of this decision the court held that the State had not discharged their duty.
"By reference to the previous records would you be in a position, even on a preliminary basis, to comment on the level of care provided to her previously at the centre?"
She stated the following:
"In my opinion the extent of the claimant's mental health difficulties were not promptly recognised by Yarlswood personnel. Generally the longer a person has untreated depression the worse the prognosis. Therefore one can postulate that delay in diagnosis and treatment adversely affected the claimant."
That, as far as I can tell, is the highest at which any claim of unlawful action on the part of the Secretary of State or a breach of duty by her or her officials is put. It amounts, on any ordinary reading, to no more than a possible hypothesis, that delay in diagnosis and treatment may have affected her condition. It falls very far short of a claim that an unlawful act or breach of duty by the Secretary of State or her officials has caused this claimant to suffer mental illness.