A Jamaican used the 'right to family life' to dodge deportation before going on to commit murder, it can be revealed today.
Ernesto Elliott, 45, was a prolific offender with 17 crimes on his rap sheet including possession of an imitation firearm.
But following , his lawyers lodged a last-minute challenge against deportation, citing Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
He claimed it would breach his rights to be separated from his UK-based family, including son Nico who went on to be convicted alongside his father of a horrific knife murder.
Ernesto Elliott's appalling criminal record spanned 18 years from 2003, shortly after he arrived in the UK.
Ernesto Elliott, right, killed Nathaniel Eyewu-Ago in a gruesome knife fight in Greenwich
Ernesto Elliott, now 45 (L), was convicted of murder and jailed for life at the Old Bailey last month with a minimum sentence of 26 years.
Elliott's arguments under Article 8 had already been rejected by the Home Office when he lodged an asylum application, his second, in the early 2010s, it is understood.
The Mail revealed on Monday that six months after he was supposed to be sent back to his native country in December 2020, he murdered 35-year-old Nathaniel Eyewu-Ago. The challenge that blocked Elliott's removal is thought never to have led to a full legal ruling because of his murder arrest.
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An open letter campaigning against the Jamaica flight was signed by supermodel Naomi Campbell, actress Thandiwe Newton and broadcaster and historian Professor David Olusoga.
A separate letter was signed by Labour politicians including Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Baroness Shami Chakrabarti.
In February 2020, in the run-up to a previous Jamaica deportation flight, another letter attacking the plans was signed by Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer and dozens of Labour MPs.
The cross-party letter to then PM Boris Johnson demanded that 'all further deportations are cancelled' over an 'unacceptable risk of removing anyone with a potential Windrush claim'.
Elliott was sent down for three years in 2018 for possession of a knife and an imitation firearm.
He was in breach of a suspended sentence and also had convictions for knife and drugs offences.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell (left) and actress Thandiwe Newton (right) have made no comment since Elliott's crime was revealed
Soul singer Beverley Knight (left) and historian David Olusoga have also said nothing of Elliott's conviction
Priti Patel, who oversaw the attempt to remove Elliott when she was in charge of the Home Office, said the case showed why it was crucial to defy 'do-gooders' who try to block deportations
Elliott was one of 23 criminals who avoided deportation to Jamaica
Under immigration laws brought in by Labour in 2007, the Home Secretary must make a deportation order against any foreign criminal jailed for 12 months or more.
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Possession and use of imitation firearms – as in Elliott's case – is treated almost as seriously as functioning weapons because of the fear they instil.
Elliott and his 23-year-old son were jailed for life at the Old Bailey last month for the murder in Greenwich, south London.
The crime, which took place in broad daylight in Greenwich, south London, was videoed by shocked neighbours.
Footage shows Elliott, his son and another man repeatedly lunging with long-bladed knives and a hammer at Mr Eyewu-Ago, who was armed with a machete.
The victim collapsed after being stabbed through the heart and died in hospital six days later.
Onlookers who witnessed the bloody, eight-minute confrontation in June 2021 suffered 'significant trauma', police said.
Keeping Elliott in jail will cost the taxpayer more than £1.3million at current rates.
Labour MP Clive Lewis had coordinated a letter against the removal flight in 2020.
The letter was signed by fellow Labour politicians.
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman arrives at 10 Downing Street to attend a cabinet meeting, in London, Britain, 21 February 2023
Earlier this week former Home Secretary Priti Patel led the criticism of his blocked deportation, backed by current Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Tory MP Chris Philp, Minister for State of Crime.
Speaking at a Policy Exchange event, Ms Patel said: 'I was heavily involved in that as home secretary at the time, and I'm afraid, as ever, we came up against various specialist immigration lawyers, Labour MPs but also celebrities who for some reason thought that they should stop a deportation flight of foreign national offenders going back to Jamaica, and that was completely wrong.
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'So I'm afraid it is absolutely appalling that individual who should have been on the plane basically was taken off the flight and went on to commit murder.
Braverman tweeted: 'This murderer should have been deported on a flight out of this country in 2020 but the courts blocked his removal after dozens of Labour MPs cried out it was an injustice. So much for their pledge to keep Britain's streets safe.'
And Philp added: 'As Immigration Minister in Dec 2020 I tried to deport this dangerous criminal. But Labour MPs and various celebrities (including Naomi Campbell, Thandiwe Newton, Naomie Harris and David Olusoga) opposed the flight and most criminals were taken off the flight following legal challenges.
'Months later, the man subsequently brutally murdered one of our fellow citizens.
On June 2, 2021, Elliott was involved in the vicious knife fight in broad daylight in Greenwich, south-east London.
Alongside his son Nico, 23, Elliott robbed and murdered 35-year-old Nathaniel Eyewu-Ago in a row over drugs.
The horrifying incident was videoed by shocked neighbours. It shows Elliott, his son and another man repeatedly lunging with long-bladed knives and a hammer at the victim, who was armed with a machete.
Mr Eyewu-Ago collapsed after being stabbed through the heart and died in hospital six days later.
Onlookers who witnessed the bloody, eight-minute confrontation suffered 'significant trauma', police said.
It was a crime that would never have taken place if Elliott, 45, had been sent back to his birth country.
Tory MPs used the opportunity to hit out at Labour MPs
David Olusoga was among the 60 celebrities, authors and other public figures who signed an open letter opposing the flight
Elliott was due to be on the chartered Boeing 757 on December 2, 2020, after being convicted of knife crime, police sources said. But he and 22 other serious criminals submitted last-minute appeals – including human rights claims – which led to them avoiding deportation to Jamaica.
The 23 criminals had been sentenced to a combined 156 years in jail. Their appeals came just days after 60 celebrities, authors and other public figures signed an open letter opposing the flight.
Opposition MPs compared the deportation flight to the Windrush scandal, even though the Caribbean migrants who suffered awful injustice in that episode had committed no crimes.
After a trial at the Old Bailey last month, Elliott, from Walthamstow, east London, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years and a concurrent sentence of 12 years for robbery.
Keeping him in jail will cost the taxpayer more than £1.3million at current rates.
His son was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years and a concurrent sentence of ten years for robbery.
Detective Chief Inspector Kate Kieran had said the father and son were 'prepared to use any form of violence necessary to protect their stolen property' after robbing the victim of drugs and cash.
She added that the crime had 'caused significant trauma to innocent members of the public who witnessed it'.
Former home secretary Ms Patel said: 'This case is exactly why we must continue to defy the protestations from the Labour Party, the do-gooding celebrities and immigration lawyers and remove convicted foreign criminals, rapists, murders, child abusers and drug dealers who have no right to be in this country.'
