In a ruling, the judge said: “The defendant accepts that the number of asylum seekers accommodated in Coventry should be reduced.
“She contends that she is moving to implement a policy under which asylum seekers are accommodated more widely throughout the UK, but she denies that there is any unlawfulness in the action she has taken.”
He said the Home Office had sought to reduce the number of asylum seekers in Coventry, but there was a statutory duty to house them.
Mr Justice Eyre added: “She [the home secretary] also says that the need to provide such accommodation can arise at short notice and, on occasion, the circumstances will be such that the location of the accommodation to be used can carry little weight.”