England's top judge condemns Starmer and Badenoch comments on Gaza family coming to UK on Ukraine scheme

England's most senior judge says she is "deeply troubled" by Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch's exchange about a Gazan family coming to the UK under the Ukraine scheme.

The Lady Chief Justice voiced her concern after the prime minister said a judge had made the "wrong decision" by letting a family of six from Gaza settle in the UK under a Ukrainian refugee scheme.

Sir Keir made the comments during last Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions after Conservative leader Ms Badenoch raised the case.

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Ms Badenoch said the decision, made following two appeals, was "completely wrong" and it "cannot be allowed to stand".

The prime minister pledged to close the "loophole" in answer to her question.

Baroness Carr said on Tuesday: "Both question and the answer were unacceptable.

"It is for the government visibly to respect and protect the independence of the judiciary.

"Where parties, including the government, disagree with their findings, they should do so through the appellate process."

The Palestinian family's application under the Ukrainian resettlement scheme was initially rejected by the Home Office, who said they were not satisfied there were "compelling, compassionate circumstances" to justify a request outside the rules.

They also noted the lack of a resettlement scheme for Palestinians.

However, the family appealed on human rights grounds - but that was dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal judge in September due to the lack of a Palestinian resettlement scheme.

They then appealed again and were allowed to remain in the UK by upper tribunal judge Hugo Norton-Taylor, who said it was "wrong to have taken the absence of a resettlement scheme into account at all".

He also backed the claim from the family based on the ECHR and the right to a family life between them and a relative in the UK.

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