Theresa May alarmed Tory delegates earlier today when she claimed that the Human Rights Act prevented the deportation of an illegal immigrant because he had a pet cat. She told the hall:
We all know the stories about the Human Rights Act. The violent drug dealer who cannot be sent home because his daughter – for whom he pays no maintenance – lives here. The robber who cannot be removed because he has a girlfriend. The illegal immigrant who cannot be deported because – and I am not making this up – he had pet a cat.
But her story has since unravelled faster than the British economy. Shortly after her speech, the Judicial Office intervened and said the entire claim was a myth. A spokesperson said: “This was a case in which the Home Office conceded that they had mistakenly failed to apply their own policy – applying at that time to that appellant – for dealing with unmarried partners of people settled in the UK. That was the basis for the decision to uphold the original tribunal decision – the cat had nothing to do with the decision.” (See David Allen Green’s post for more of the legal details.)
For good measure, Ken Clarke popped up at a Telegraph fringe event and said that no one had ever avoided being deported for owning a cat. “I will have a small wager [with May],” he added. It looks like it’s the Home Secretary who will be left out of pocket.
Update: May has promised that she “will look at it again”. She told Sky News’s Adam Boulton: “Of course everything that went into my speech was checked. I gather that there has been some question now from a spokesman questioning that and of course I will look at it again.”
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