Ben Keith was instructed by the Secretary of State for the Home Department in the Court of Appeal in the case of QY (Vietnam) v SSHD [2025] EWCA Civ 607, a decision concerning deportation, asylum and human rights protection.
The case concerned the deportation of a Vietnamese national convicted of a serious criminal offence and the interplay between the public interest in deportation and an individual’s Article 8 rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The appellant, QY, had received a custodial sentence of three years and seven months for offences relating to cannabis cultivation. Despite his long residence in the UK and the presence of family ties, the Secretary of State had determined that the public interest in his deportation outweighed these considerations.
The First-tier Tribunal (FTT) allowed the appeal, finding the appellant credible and accepting that he would be at real risk of serious harm on return. However, the Upper Tribunal found that the FTT had materially erred in law by failing to properly assess inconsistencies in the evidence, the absence of supporting material, and the credibility implications of QY’s delayed asylum claim. The FTT’s decision was set aside and the case remitted for a fresh hearing.
The appeal to the Court of Appeal raised fundamental questions regarding the threshold for appellate intervention in fact-finding, the approach to credibility in asylum claims, and the correct application of the “real risk” test under Articles 2 and 3 ECHR.
Ben Keith, appearing for the Home Secretary, successfully resisted the appeal. The majority of the Court (Lord Justice Dingemans and Lord Justice Arnold) dismissed QY’s challenge, holding that the Upper Tribunal had correctly identified serious reasoning errors and inconsistencies in the FTT’s assessment of credibility and risk.
This decision provides important guidance on the proper role of the appellate courts in asylum and deportation appeals, the need for scrutiny in protection claims, and the evidentiary obligations on appellants seeking to resist deportation on human rights grounds.
The full judgment is available here.
Ben Keith is a leading barrister specialising in cross-border and international cases, regularly instructed in high-profile and complex appeals before the appellate courts. He deals with all aspects of Extradition, Human Rights, Mutual Legal Assistance, Interpol, Financial crime and International Law including sanctions. He represents governments, political and military leaders, High Net Worth individuals, human rights defenders and business leaders in the most sensitive cases.
