The British government will find out today whether it has successfully won its appeal against a court ruling allowing nine Afghans who hijacked a plane to stay in the country as refugees.
The British government has lost its Court of Appeal battle over the legal power to take away the right of nine Afghan hijackers to work in the UK.
Home Secretary John Reid had argued that although the nine could not be deported because of their human rights, immigration law allowed him to impose "temporary admission" status on them and curb their freedom while they remained in the country.
But the High Court announced their decision in London today, dismissing the Home Secretary's appeal against an earlier High Court ruling.
But that attracted scathing criticism from Prime Minister Tony Blair who branded the ruling an "abuse of common sense".
The nine Afghans, armed with knives and guns, hijacked a Boeing 727 plane in February 2000 after the aircraft left Afghanistan's capital Kabul on an internal flight.
They ordered the pilot to fly to London's Stansted airport, telling negotiators they would blow up everybody on board if they were not granted political asylum.
The men, leaders and members of the political group Young Intellectuals of Afghanistan, which intended to bring enlightenment and freedom to the country, had claimed they faced torture or death at the hands of the Taliban.
In May, the coverturned the government's decision not to allow the nine men to remain in Britain, describing it as "an abuse of power".