Canadian boyfriend denied entry to UK (Gatwick) what now?

[Greentangerine]

My boyfriend tried to visit me yesterday from Canada, he arrived at Gatwick airport at 7am and was denied entry. They spent 4 hours before they told me he wouldn't be let in, I asked if I could see him or if there was a phone number I could contact him but they said no. By 6pm I reluctantly left the airport and went home, while I was travellig back (from Gatwick to liverpool.. on the bus) he'd been able to call my home phone and had left me two messages, one saying I could call him back on some number.
By the time I got home and called back they said it was too late to talk to him and I'd have to wait until the morning, I called first thing at 7am to which I was then told I wasn't allowed to contact him, the only way we could talk if was he called me himself. I thought maybe I just got a particularly mean officer that time I called, so I tried calling 3 more times and different numbers and each time I got told the same thing.

They wouldn't let me send any messages to be passed on to him or even let me know what flight he was going back home on or what time he was leaving or anything. The problem is.. I checked all the flights going out of Gatwick and the only ones where to Toronto;.. he came in from Edmonton. Can they just send him back to Toronto? Is that allowed? It seems so unfair.. he didn't do anything illegal... and he doesn't know anyone in Toronto, I can't get in touch with him and I don't even know what's going on..

What can I do? I feel so helpless. Shouldn't they at least tell me or his family what flight he's on?

[Lucapooka]

There is not much (or anything) you can do. It's really down to the type and quality of answers he gave to the questions, and his personal situation in Canada. You'll have to wait to ask him what was said but obviously the UKBA did not think he was there for a general visit based on what he stated, otherwise they would have let him in. A slip of the tongue about working in the UK, or him having no social and economic ties to Canada; who knows? It's more common to see this sort of thing handed down to travellers from less-developed countries so he was indeed unlucky.

Whatever the story, he should not attempt EC on arrival in the future; he should apply for a visit visa before he travels.