Expelled boy wins damages appeal

Abdul sued for £10,000 damages for lost education

A schoolboy who was expelled after a classroom fire has won a partial victory in his claim for damages.

In a test case last June, Abdul Hakim Ali, of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, sued Lord Grey School for £10,000 for 10 months of lost education.

The judge ruled he was not entitled to damages under the Human Rights Act, though his expulsion had been unlawful.

On Monday the Appeal Court ruled Abdul, now 17, should be awarded damages for seven of the 10 months.

Allow the appeal

Lord Justice Sedley, giving the ruling, upheld Mr Justice Stanley Burnton's decision that the head and the governors were not liable to pay Abdul damages under the Human Rights Act for the period 8 March 2001 to 6 June 2001.

But he said he would allow the appeal in relation to the period of exclusion from 7 June 2001 to 20 January 2002.

The judge added: "In relation to that period the action must proceed to the assessment of damages unless - as is very much to be hoped - agreement can be reached between the parties."

Abdul, whose case was backed by the University of Essex-based Children's Legal Centre, claimed he was unlawfully removed from the school roll.

He had been accused of lighting a fire in a waste bin at the school on 8 March 2001.

Police were called in and he and two other students were cautioned, searched and taken to the police station.

Despite his good disciplinary record and with nothing proven against him, Abdul was suspended as soon as the allegations were made, and later permanently excluded.

Abdul claimed he was never given a chance by the 1,200-pupil school to disprove the allegations - violating his human rights.