An Albanian criminal is allowed the stay in Britain in part because his son has ‘distaste’ for foreign chicken nuggets, an immigration tribunal ruled.
It would be ‘unduly harsh’ for the 10-year-old boy to be forced to move back with his father due to his sensory issues with different types of food.
The judge allowed the father’s appeal against deportation as a breach of his right to a family life as a result.
Albanian Klevis Disha, 39, came to the UK illegally in February 2001 when he was a 15-year-old unaccompanied child.
He entered under a false name and falsely claimed to have been born in the former Yugoslavia. His asylum claim was rejected, but he secured UK citizenship in 2007 after being granted exceptional leave to remain, and then indefinite leave.
In 2017, he was imprisoned for two years after being caught with £250,000 cash.
Then Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered he should be deported to Albania and stripped of his UK citizenship, but Disha appealed and was backed by a judge at an immigration tribunal.
The judge ruled that deportation would be unfair to his son – known only as C – for him to remain in the UK and be separated from his father, or to be forced to go with him to Albania.
C was said to have ‘sensory difficulties’ with some clothing, such as socks, and certain types of food which meant he would ‘refuse to do anything’.
Then Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered he should be deported to Albania and stripped of his UK citizenship, but Disha appealed and was backed by a judge at an immigration tribunal
Stock image of a child eating chicken nuggets
The child’s ‘additional’ needs were supported only by evidence from a trainee educational psychologist, a neighbour and a family friend.
There was no formal diagnosis of special educational needs, The Telegraph reported.
But he did have an educational plan to deal with his ’emotional regulation, independence; reading and writing.’
Another judge in the upper tribunal disagreed with the assessment that the child’s needs couldn’t be met if he was returned to Albania.
The judge said the only example of why the boy could not go was that he ‘will not eat the type of chicken nuggets that are available abroad’.
‘We are not persuaded that the addition of this sole example approaches anywhere near the level of harshness for a reasonable judge to find it to be “unduly” so,’ he said.
The case will be reheard by a different judge to decide whether the consequences of deportation would be unduly harsh on the 10-year-old boy. The case is ongoing.
A Home Office spokesman said: ‘Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain’s streets, including removal from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.
‘Since the election, we’ve removed 2,580 foreign criminals, a 23 per cent increase on the same period 12 months prior.’
