By Ashley Young-
Individuals could be stripped of their British citizenship without warning under a proposed rule change secretly added to the nationality and borders bill without any formal announcement.
The proposal has come as a surprise, but national security and the interest of the Uk has been presented as the stated grounds for such drastic steps .
Presiding over the bill is Home Secretary Priti Patel, (pictured)whose office is using Clause 9 to effect the new bill, considered necessary to frustrate the actions of dangerous and unwanted subjects in the Uk who have a British passport, and cancel their citizenship for good.
“Notice of decision to deprive a person of citizenship” – of the bill, which was updated earlier this month, permits the government to strip individuals of their British citizenship without notice if it is not “reasonably practicable” to do so, or in the interests of national security, diplomatic relations or otherwise in the public interest.
The Home Office is expected to provide further explanations as to why those being stripped cannot be informed in advance to afford them a defence, though it is believed that in the case of serious terrorist threats, those being stripped should not be told in advance.
The problem that could arise once the Home Office has blanket powers to strip individuals without notice, they could abuse their powers in certain cases.
Frances Webber, the vice-chair of the Institute of Race Relations, said: “This amendment sends the message that certain citizens, despite being born and brought up in the UK and having no other home, remain migrants in this country. Their citizenship, and therefore all their rights, are precarious and contingent.
“It builds on previous measures to strip British-born dual nationals (who are mostly from ethnic minorities) of citizenship and to do it while they are abroad, measures used mainly against British Muslims. It unapologetically flouts international human rights obligations and basic norms of fairness.”
Home Office powers to strip British nationals of their citizenship were introduced after the 2005 London bombings but their use increased under Theresa May’s tenure as home secretary from 2010, and they were broadened in 2014.
The Guardian reports that new clause will be able to be applied retrospectively to cases where an individual was stripped of citizenship without notice before the clause became law, somewhat eliminating their right to appeal.
The idea of stripping people of their British citizenship without notice sounds odd, and could potentially run into legal challenges in many cases.
Maya Foa, the director of Reprieve, said: “This clause would give Priti Patel unprecedented power to remove your citizenship in secret, without even having to tell you, and effectively deny you an appeal. Under this regime, a person accused of speeding would be afforded more rights than someone at risk of being deprived of their British nationality. This once again shows how little regard this government has for the rule of law.
“The US government has condemned citizenship-stripping as a dangerous denial of responsibility for your own nationals. Ministers should listen to our closest security ally rather than doubling down on this deeply misguided and morally abhorrent policy.”
The Home Office said: “British citizenship is a privilege, not a right. Deprivation of citizenship on conducive grounds is rightly reserved for those who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct involves very high harm. The nationality and borders bill will amend the law so citizenship can be deprived where it is not practicable to give notice, for example if there is no way of communicating with the person.”