In a judgment handed down on 10 June 2025, Jonathan Worboys (with Sian Reeves) acted for the successful Defendants, the Secretaries of State for the Home Department and Defence, in R (QP1 & Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2025] EWHC 1388 (Admin).
The claim was brought following the First Claimant’s unsuccessful application under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP). The claimants challenged aspects of the government’s approach to ARAP and sought to argue that their case should have been considered under the ‘Leave Outside the Rules’ (LOTR) framework.
Among the key issues considered by the Court were:
- Whether the Home Secretary had acted unreasonably in declining to consider the application exceptionally under LOTR;
- Whether the structure of the application process, including the absence of a separate LOTR form for ARAP applicants, was rational;
- Whether adequate reasons had been given for not providing such a form.
Farbey J rejected all grounds of challenge and dismissed the claim.
