Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost to public funds, in each of the last five years, of compensation payments to illegal immigrants who had been unlawfully detained beyond the statutory period; and what was the legal aid cost of the lawyers undertaking those compensation claims.

1 April 2008 we have reported on compensation cases and disclosed information on individual cases where the costs exceeded £250,000. We do not report the individual details on cases below this threshold, or prior to this date.

Information relating to compensation, ex-gratia and adverse legal costs payments is available and can be found within the Losses and Special Payments disclosure in the UKBA Annual Report and Accounts. These are available on the Home Office Website via the attached link.

www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=uk-border-agency

Legal Aid Agency data does not distinguish between false imprisonment claims made by illegal immigrants and those made by other individuals.