Home Secretary Theresa May has agreed that four asylum seekers who brought test case challenges over the fast tracking of their asylum claims are entitled to "substantive damages".
A High Court judge approved an order in which Theresa May consented to compensation pay-outs the day after Parliament was told the Detained Fast Track System had been suspended.
Mr Justice Blake, sitting in London, approved the order in which the Government accepted that the DFT "created an unacceptable risk of unfairness to vulnerable or potentially vulnerable individuals".
The declaration was the result of test case challenges brought by asylum seekers referred to by the initials JM, RE, KW and MY who entered the fast track on dates between December 2013 and January 2015.
JM claimed to have been tortured in Cameroon because of his support for homosexuals and lesbians; RE fled Egypt and said he had been persecuted and tortured because of his membership of the Muslim Brotherhood.
KW is a Sri Lankan national who said she was interrogated, raped and tortured by Sri Lankan police officers; MY is a Cameroonian national who claims to be HIV positive and suffered rape and persecution because of her sexuality.
At least a further 21 similar claims which could lead to further damages awards are in the pipeline and will be heard later this year.
Immigration Minister James Brokenshire announced in Parliament that the DFT had been suspended after coming under "significant legal challenge".
The system was introduced in 2000 to give quick decisions in asylum claims considered to be weak and lacking in merit.
It accelerated legal hearings and appeals while keeping the individual seeking asylum in detention.
The Home Office agreed that all four test case claimants were entitled to damages because they were unlawfully detained on the fast track when their cases were unsuitable for speedy action and more time was needed for further investigation of their claims of persecution and torture.
The Home Office also conceded that, between January and March this year, there was an unlawful failure to remove individuals from the fast track after written notification was received from groups working with victims of torture and trafficking confirming that their cases required more scrutiny.
Toufique Hossain, a solicitor in the case, said: "Our cases, coupled with the Government's change of position, will pave the way for countless unlawful detention claims and reviews to negative asylum decisions."
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