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Gambia not among UK’s ‘deport now, appeal later’ rule

Aug 21, 2025, 11:54 AM | Article By: Alhagie Mbye, The Point’s Senior Int’l Correspondent

The Gambia is not among both the existing and new list of countries included in the UK’s “deport now, appeal later” policy against foreign offenders.

The new rule granted will allow so called “foreign criminals” to be sent back to their various countries before any appeal against their removal is heard, prompting a bone of contention over the policy”

However, following a recent high profile case involving various Gambians accused of suspected “people-smuggling” many are concerned that the country could be included.

Additionally, a new list of countries released few days ago as well as reports that others may follow suit prompted The Point to seek verification and clarification over the matter.

However, this correspondent learnt that The Gambia is not included in both lists which are now confirmed to be a total of 23 countries.

Even though the government has reiterated that it was necessary to include 15 new countries to the list including Australia, Canada and India, others disagreed.

Prior to the policy, accused persons were allowed to remain in the UK pending appeals in the courts thus prompting legal and human rights commentators to fiercely voice their opposition.

Nonetheless, the government maintained that it is meant to “prevent foreign criminals from exploiting our immigration system … and to fast-track their removals from the UK”.

The government has also commented on the issue of overcrowding in the prisons thus keeping a prisoner costs “£54,000 a year on average”.

During inquiries, this correspondent also heard that currently there are also new plans by the government via the Justice Secretary to “immediately deport people after they have received a custodial sentence”.

Consequently, those who received fixed-term sentences could also be “deported and barred from re-entering” the UK.

Meanwhile, Gambians who were arrested at various addresses across the country including West Yorkshire and London could not be reached for comments despite numerous efforts.

However, this case has shaken and emotionally impacted the Gambian community well known for law abiding behaviour and hardworking.

The authorities claimed that the accused persons charged people £5,000 each and had smuggled more than 500 Gambians into the country thus receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds “using forged passports and visas”.

The defendants have vehemently denied the charges against them.

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