AN asylum seeker has won the right to claim damages from the Home Office because he was made “depressed” by delays and mistakes in the processing of his application for refugee status.

The asylum seeker, a Libyan, is claiming £30,000 because of the way his claim was handled, said sources close to the case.

Human rights lawyers hailed the ruling, made by a High Court judge last month, as a landmark case and said it could open the way to a potentially limitless number of similar claims.

The Libyan arrived in Britain in February 2000 and claimed asylum, but the government sent claim forms to the wrong address, delaying the process. Eventually he was granted asylum in May 2002.

Lawyers argued the case under article 8 of the Human Rights Act. They claimed that their client’s mental health had been affected by the “long and troubling” period of uncertainty he had faced. Evidence from his psychiatrist showed that the delay had caused him worry, creating symptoms of “major depressive disorder”.

The Libyan was claiming £30,000 damages, although he is more likely to be granted between £10,000 and £20,000 if he wins the next stage of his legal fight.

A lawyer who has observed the case closely said: “Undoubtedly asylum seekers now have the right to claim damages, in the same way as if you were run over by a car you can claim through the courts.”

Rosalind English, an expert on human rights law, said that the case would open the way for similar claims “by every failed — and indeed successful — asylum seeker”. She added that the case had established that with only a “low threshold” of distress, asylum seekers can now sue.

The number of asylum seekers arriving in Britain surged by 20% last year to 111,000, according to figures that were released last month by David Blunkett, the home secretary. The cost of dealing with asylum seekers in the past two years was £3.5 billion.

The Home Office said that the government would appeal against the ruling, made by Mr Justice Silber in the High Court last month.

Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service, a publicly funded charity, said: “Unfortunately, this has been typical of a large number of cases of maladministration. The government still treats asylum seekers as statistics rather than human beings.

“Anybody lawfully on British soil should expect to be treated with efficiency and courtesy by a government department — whether or not they are British citizens.”

Best pointed out that this was not the first time that the Home Office had been forced to pay out compensation to asylum seekers. Several years ago the courts ruled that the government had breached the Geneva Convention by imprisoning a group of asylum seekers who had been smuggled into Britain on false papers.

Oliver Letwin, the Tory shadow home secretary, said: “Given the fact that this will give rise to widespread claims, it is yet another indication that the only sensible way forward is to scrap the existing asylum system and replace it with a new system of quotas for genuine refugees selected from refugee camps around the world.”

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