Home Secretary’s failure to pay damages in unlawful detention case incurs thousands in interest

Following on from last year’s award of £203,995 made to a victim of abuse at Brook House, it seems the Home Secretary has missed the deadline of 29 September 2024 to make payment to the claimant, meaning that thousands more in interest is now payable. The conduct of pretty much the entire case on behalf of the Home Secretary had already been heavily criticised by the court and has led to a legal bill likely to be in excess of £400,000, yet it appears that this has not prompted any improvement in behaviour. The case is Ibukun Adebowale Adegboyega v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 155 (KB).

No explanation was provided on behalf of the Home Secretary for the failure to pay. Interest is accruing at 8% on the outstanding amount of damages which is £146,495.24 (£203,995.24 less the interim payment of £57,500) from 29 September 2024. By my calculations, on the best case scenario for the Home Secretary which is that it was paid on the date of the hearing (there is no indication that this was the case), the interest would have been just over £2,500. As of today (123 days since the deadline) if it still hasn’t been paid then the interest due because of late payment is just under £4,000. This must be paid by 11 February 2025.

Decisions were also made on each of the individual awards as to whether interest would accrue from the date the claim was served until the date of the judgment. The court determined that certain of the damages did not accrue interest, including the exemplary damages and those for a breach of article 3. The total amount of interest payable on this point is £9,648.95.

Legal costs in this case are expected to exceed £400,000 (the total for both the claimant and defendant’s lawyers). It seems that this sum has largely been incurred through the conduct of the defendant, with the judge commenting that the case was “defended in an extremely aggressive manner with every possible point being taken”.

The court also ordered that the claimant’s legal costs be paid by the Home Secretary on the indemnity basis, stating “I have found in my judgment in the assessment of damages trial that the Defendant and its solicitors have throughout these proceedings made untrue and misleading statements and acted oppressively.” 

Indemnity costs is the only area where we really ever see repercussions for poor conduct on the Home Secretary’s side, so it is good to see that they have been awarded here. This should also serve as a reminder to the government that detention can be incredibly costly, as well as cruel.