A Deportation Order Has Left This Barbados-Born Painter Unable To Work for 14 Years

Tony Hall, a 62-year-old painter and decorator who arrived in Britain from Barbados in 1976, has spent 14 years unable to work or rent a home because of a deportation order. His case highlights the difficulties that can arise when historic immigration-status problems intersect with a criminal conviction.

Hall was 12 when he joined his mother and five older sisters in London. He now relies on family and friends for support and faces the prospect of homelessness. His case involves a 2001 criminal conviction and a long-running dispute over his immigration status.

Tony Hall's Deportation Order Follows a Criminal Conviction

Hall was convicted in 2001 of conspiracy to rob and a firearm-related offence. He received an eight-year prison sentence after planning with others to rob a security van carrying money to a bank. Hall was carrying a toy gun, while a real firearm was found in the car. Police stopped the group before the planned robbery took place.

After serving his sentence, Hall was transferred to immigration detention. In January 2010, the Home Office put him on a flight to Barbados, but he returned to London the following day after being refused entry.

Hall has not visited Barbados for 50 years and says he recognises nothing in photographs of the island. He has no surviving relatives there and says he has no paperwork tying him to either country.

Since his release from detention in 2012, Hall has remained subject to the deportation order. He must report to a Home Office centre every fortnight, carrying documents warning that he could be detained pending deportation. He estimates that he has made the journey more than 350 times.

The deportation order and his unresolved immigration status have also prevented Hall from putting the business cards and website created by his nephew to practical use in advertising his painting and decorating services.

Hall has acknowledged his past mistakes and says he has served his sentence. 'Sometimes I feel mad at them,' he said. He recalled telling officials that he had lived in Britain for 50 years, only to be told that his case was outside their department.

The Windrush Scandal and Hall's Unresolved Status

The Windrush scandal exposed how some people who had the right to live in Britain, including members of the Windrush generation and some of their descendants, were wrongly treated as illegal immigrants. Many struggled to prove their status after decades in the country.

Hall's solicitor, Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors, believes the deportation order may have been issued in error. Kandiah argues that Hall's parents held the former status of Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies, and that Hall himself held that status and was granted indefinite leave to remain when he arrived. These are the solicitor's arguments, not a judicial finding establishing Hall's current citizenship.

A Home Office spokesperson said Hall's past offences meant the deportation order remained in force and that he was not eligible for consideration under the Windrush scheme. His solicitor disputes the outcome, arguing that Hall has been left caught between the order and a scheme intended to address historic immigration-status problems.

Figures cited in reporting on the Windrush scheme indicated that more than 18,000 people had received documentation confirming their right to remain in the UK, while about £132 million had been paid in compensation to 4,177 people. These figures reflect the position reported at the time and should not be treated as current totals without checking the latest official data.

Hall's case brings together disputed historic immigration status, questions about administrative decisions and the consequences of a past criminal conviction.

Tony Hall Faces the Prospect of Homelessness

Hall lives with the sister closest to him in age, but she plans to move house and will soon be unable to accommodate him. He therefore faces the prospect of homelessness.

Hall's sister, who asked not to be named, said she was angry about the years he had spent unable to rebuild his life. She said he had not reoffended since leaving prison and wanted the chance to work and live normally.

Barrister Martin Forde, who has supported people affected by the Windrush scandal, criticised the continued uncertainty faced by people with unresolved immigration cases. He described the additional consequences they can face after a criminal conviction as a form of 'double jeopardy'. This was his characterisation of the situation, rather than a judicial finding in Hall's case.

Hall said he had hoped to marry in 2014 but could not book a ceremony because he lacked a passport or proof of citizenship. He also said potential partners had sometimes kept their distance because they feared he could be deported.

His solicitor, Kandiah, has urged the Home Office to reconsider the case, arguing that Hall has been left effectively destitute despite spending five decades in Britain.

Hall still has the business cards advertising his planned company, Always Decorating Services. 'I'm as British as all my mates,' he said.