The government's fast track immigration policy of detaining asylum seekers did not break human rights legislation, five Law Lords have ruled.

It means victory for Home Secretary David Blunkett who was "deeply disturbed" last year at a landmark ruling that the detention of refugees at Oakington refugee centre in Cambridgeshire, was unlawful.

It is regrettable that anyone should be deprived of his liberty ... but there are situations where such a course is justified

Lord Slynn

The Court of Appeal had overturned the High Court decision earlier this month but granted permission for the case to be taken to the House of Lords.

Legal representatives of four Iraqi Kurds who brought the action had planned to seek thousands of pounds in compensation for unlawful detention.

The original decision by the High Court would have meant hundreds of asylum seekers being freed from the centre, blowing a hole in the entire fast-track immigration policy designed to slash the backlog of over 100,000 undecided asylum claims.

'Difficult decisions'

Giving the unanimous ruling, Lord Slynn of Hadley, said: "It is regrettable that anyone should be deprived of his liberty other than pursuant to the order of a court but there are situations where such a course is justified.

"In a situation like the present one with huge numbers and difficult decisions involved, with the risk of long delays to applicants seeking to come, a balancing exercise has to be performed."

Blunkett had done 'all he could be expected to do to alleviate deprivation of liberty'

Lord Slynn stressed that coming to a speedy decision was in the best interests of applicants and those waiting in the queue.

He said the conditions at the showpiece £4.5m immigration centre were reasonable and detention there was not unfair.

"Far from being arbitrary, it seems to me that the secretary of state has done all that he could be expected to do to palliate the deprivation of liberty of the many applicants for asylum here."

Dr Shayan Saadi arrived at Heathrow airport on 30 December 2000 and immediately claimed asylum while Zhenar Maged, Dilshad Osman and Rizgan Mohammed all arrived at Dover in December 2000 hidden in the backs of lorries.