Ms N

Ms N, an Iranian national, arrived at Stansted Airport on a flight from Istanbul in October 2012. She presented a false Belgian passport to an immigration official and claimed asylum on the basis that she would face political persecution if returned to Iran.

Ms N was arrested and, on the advice of solicitors, pleaded guilty to possessing or controlling a false identity document with intent at Chelmsford Crown Court in November 2012. She received a sentence of six months’ imprisonment.

Ms N’s claim for Asylum was refused by the Home Office in November 2013 and a Deportation Order was made. She appealed and in April 2014, Ms M’s appeal was allowed by the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) which found that Ms M gave a credible account of her history in Iran.

The CCRC received an application for review of the conviction in December 2014.

Following review, the CCRC concluded that Ms N had a statutory defence to the charge on which she was convicted available to her under section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

That defence would probably have succeeded but the legal advice provided to Ms N deprived her of the defence.

Consequently, there was a real possibility that the Court of Appeal would set aside Ms N’s guilty plea and find that her conviction was unsafe.

The CCRC referred the conviction in February 2016.

The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in July 2016.