Bid to reverse terminally ill mother's deportation hit by legal ruling

Published on Saturday 12 January 2008 19:04

A HIGH-level appeal to the Government to reverse a decision to deport a terminally ill mother to Ghana appears to have failed.

Mother-of-two Ama Sumani, 39, was taken from a hospital in Cardiff on Wednesday and flown back to Ghana. She had been receiving dialysis three times a week in the UK after her kidneys were damaged by cancer, but was forced to leave when her visa expired.

Since returning to Accra, the capital, it has emerged that she is unable to afford the 3,000 needed for the first three months of treatment.

Her plight promoted Annan Cato, the High Commissioner for Ghana in London, to appeal to the UK authorities to let her return to Britain.

He said: "Even now, I don't think it is too late for them to reconsider their position to allow her to come back and receive treatment. The UK has done this for many, many people and I am confident they could do it again."

But that appeal appeared to have been rejected when the Border & Immigration Agency underlined the legal grounds for the deportation.

A spokesman said: "Anyone seeking to remain in the UK needs to ensure they have the legal right to do so or face removal. We examine with great care each individual case before removal, and we assess fitness to travel and whether the necessary medical treatment is available in the country to which we are returning.

"The UK cannot offer healthcare to individuals with no legal right to remain in the UK solely because they would not be able to access a similar standard of treatment in their country of origin – this has been upheld in law.

"While it is preferable for those with no right to remain in the UK to return home voluntarily, it is regrettable that not all choose to do so and in those circumstances it may be necessary to enforce removal."