A senior judge has raised concerns over the Home Office’s use of potentially fabricated information in rejecting an asylum claim from a Moroccan woman and her child. The woman, fleeing Morocco due to forced underage marriage and fears for her safety from her husband, had her asylum request denied based on a document cited by the Home Office that was later found to be non-existent.

The disputed document, referred to as a country policy information note (CPIN), allegedly indicated that Morocco was safe for the claimant. However, during an appeal hearing at an upper tribunal on July 14, the judge noted that no such CPIN could be located and stated, “It appears that no such CPIN has ever existed.” The Home Office letter refusing the claim contained references to a "country information note Morocco July 2021" that the judge suggested bore characteristics typical of content generated by artificial intelligence, a phenomenon known as an AI "hallucination."

The judge further commented that if the document was indeed a product of AI fabrication, this would amount to a serious failure on the part of the Home Office. According to available records, the most recent CPIN published on Morocco dates back to 2017.

The woman’s initial Home Office appeal was unsuccessful, prompting her legal representatives to seek redress through the upper tribunal. The case remains ongoing.

A spokesperson for the Home Office stated that each asylum claim is reviewed based on its individual circumstances and the latest available evidence to ensure protection is granted only to those with genuine need. The department did not directly address the judge’s observations regarding the use of AI-generated information.