The proposed deportation of a Lebanese man with Down’s syndrome has been branded “fundamentally inhumane” by the business secretary, Vince Cable. Wadih Chourey, 44, has lived in Twickenham, south-west London, for the past 17 years after seeking refuge from abuse in Beirut. But both his parents have since died and his brother Camil, 52, said he would be unable to care for himself in Lebanon.
The Home Office said he did not meet the requirements for remaining in the UK. A spokesperson said: “All applications are considered on their individual merits and in line with the immigration rules. Mr Chourey failed to meet the necessary requirements. The decision to refuse his application has been backed up by the courts.”
Cable, the MP for Twickenham, said the decision to pursue the case was perplexing. “There are large numbers of cases of abuse of the immigration rule and I think the public expects the government and the Home Office to get to grips with them,” he told the BBC. “But not cases like this. It’s a terrible waste of their resources and it’s fundamentally inhumane, and I think it illustrates how the immigration system often fails.”
More than 70,000 people have signed an online petition calling on home secretary Theresa May to block the attempted deportation.
Chourey cannot work, but helps Camil and his other brother Joseph in their bakery, Joseph’s Patisserie, in Isleworth, west London. He does not receive any state benefits. Camil told Buzzfeed: “We’ve never lied about why he’s here ... We look after him. He deserves to live a normal life.”
Wadih’s solicitor said the Home Office had gone to considerable lengths to deport him. After he arrived in Britain in 1997, he applied for leave to remain in the UK. That application was refused and his family lodged an appeal.
The first-tier tribunal granted his appeal on human rights grounds, but the Home Office then appealed against that decision and the case proceeded to the upper tribunal. The upper tribunal found in favour of the Home Office and overturned the original decision.
The case is now set to be heard by the court of appeal.
