Brothers' deportation is halted

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_west/7159463.stm

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Two sons of a Pakistani family living in Swansea who were due to be deported on Christmas Eve have won a temporary reprieve.

Christopher and Calvin George had been scheduled to fly out of the UK to Pakistan at 1415 GMT.

But the Border & Immigration Agency agreed to defer their deportation 25 minutes before they were due to leave.

It is thought their asylum appeal will now be considered under the fast track system.

They will be returned to a detention centre and will not be allowed to spend Christmas with their family.

The Home Office said it cannot comment on specific cases.

Christopher and Calvin George were facing deportation over alleged visa irregularities even though they have been in the UK since 2004 and have up-to-date visas.

Their Christian parents, George and Veronica William, together with their three younger children, won a temporary reprieve from deportation on Friday.

Mr William, a volunteer in Swansea for Oxfam which has been supporting the family, had attempted to seek a judicial review against deportation through London's High Court.

This will be a special Christmas for us, I left the Christmas decorations incomplete so I will do it when I reach Swansea George William

His sons were taken to a detention centre in Cambridgeshire on Friday, as the rest of the family were released from a removal centre near Gatwick airport, where they were to have been deported to Pakistan on Sunday.

"We are quite satisfied and happy," said Mr William after finding out about his sons' temporary reprieve

"My wife, she was at the airport at the time, and I informed them about this [the decision] and she was very very surprised how suddenly these things happen.

"She started crying.

"This will be a special Christmas for us, I left the Christmas decorations incomplete so I will do it when I reach Swansea," he added.

It is expected the two brothers will remain in a detention centre for up to three weeks while their case is considered.

Mr William and his family fled Pakistan claiming they have faced harassment and persecution because of their Christian beliefs.

They came to the UK in 2003.

The parents, their two daughters and youngest son have a case review

The family's claims for asylum have been rejected and on Wednesday immigration officers went to the family home in Swansea and took the family into detention.

Christopher and Calvin - who use their father's first name as their surnames - happened to be visiting at the time and were taken to holding cells at Swansea Prison.

After a campaign by their friends, and with support from the children's class-mates, the High Court decided on Friday to look again at their claims that they faced persecution if returned to Pakistan.

A Border and Immigration Agency spokesman has said: "The UK Government is committed to providing protection for those individuals found to be genuinely in need, in accordance with our commitments under international law.

"However, in order to maintain the integrity of our asylum system and prevent unfounded applications it is important that we are able to enforce returns of those who do not need protection and who have no further claim to remain in the UK."

"We would not seek to remove someone with an outstanding claim or appeal."