Hilary vs the Home Office | Hilary Ineomo-Marcus and Miranda Sawyer

The Secret Life of Prisons podcast

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

--

Hilary Ineomo-Marcus was days away from release from HMP Brixton in 2014 when he found out that he wasn't going home. His immigration status was being questioned and he was being considered for deportation.

Hilary had moved to the UK from Nigeria as a child with his family. He had gone to primary school, secondary school and university in the UK. He had returned to Nigeria once in his whole life. He had married a British woman and had British children.

He committed a fraud for which he served a severe punishment in prison.

But from 2014 he spent 10 years and tens of thousands of pounds fighting a legal battle with the Home Office to prevent his deportation to a country with which he had no ties.

Hilary is a Trustee of the Prison Radio Association, and in this episode he describes his experience and ... finally ... is able to tell us about the happy ending to his story.

Miranda Sawyer is a journalist and broadcaster. She is the radio and podcast critic for the Observer newspaper. She has known Hilary for most of his time fighting this battle. She has supported him and become his good friend.

In this emotional episode, we hear what it takes to battle the Home Office and win.

Presenters: Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760