Fury as criminal allowed to STAY in Britain because ‘his son, 10, doesn’t like foreign chicken nuggets’

AN ALBANIAN criminal was allowed to stay in Britain partly because his 10-year-old son does not like foreign chicken nuggets. An immigration tribunal ruled it would have been "unduly harsh" for the child to be deported to Albania with his father due to his sensitivity around food as well other "additional" needs. Father Klevis Disha, 39, successfully appealed his deportation at a lower-tier immigration tribunal in which his son's distaste for foreign chicken nuggets was listed as the only example of his food difficulties.

The case also focused on his son's needs in regards to sensory issues and difficulties communicating emotions. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick told the Telegraph it was "mind-boggling", "ludicrous" and "outrageous" that food had been used as an argument to prevent deportation. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp also slammed the decision, claiming foreign criminals are "exploiting human rights laws and weak judges".

The judge in the case had allowed Disha's appeal as the deportation would have breached his right to a family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) - citing the impact his removal could have on his son. Other needs were also listed for his son, known only as C, that claimed he would have suffered if he remained in the UK separated from his father or if he was forced to go to Albania.

The court was also told that education plans were in place to support C's learning, although the boy had no formal diagnosis of special educational needs. Disha’s lawyers said C, whose first language is Albanian, also had needs in regards to difficulties with some clothing, especially socks, and certain types of food that would make him seize up. Using a fake name and falsely claiming to have been born in the former Yugoslavia, Disha, 39, entered the UK illegally as a 15-year-old unaccompanied minor in 2001.

Despite having his asylum claim rejected, he gained UK citizenship in 2007 after being granted exceptional leave to remain, followed by an indefinite leave to remain. With his partner, another Albanian who gained UK citizenship in 2006, he had two daughters and a son. However, Disha was jailed for two years after being caught with £250,000 in cash, known to be the proceeds of crime, in September 2017.

Dame Priti Patel, then home secretary, called for him to be deported to Albania and stripped of his UK citizenship as it had been acquired through deception. Disha then appealed his deportation and was supported by a judge at a lower-tier immigration tribunal who argued it would be "unduly harsh" to deport his son or separate him from his father. While the appeal was granted, judge David Merrigan in the upper-tier tribunal disagreed with the assessment that C's additional needs could not be met if he was sent to Albania.

He has remitted the case to be reheard by a different judge in the lower tribunal in order to decide whether the singular issue of the chicken nuggets would be "unduly harsh" on the 10-year-old boy. A Home Office spokesperson told The Telegraph: "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.”. They added that the Home Office does not comment on individual cases. The case is ongoing. This comes as it was revealed the number of foreign criminals in the UK is three times as high as it was eight years ago. More than 18,000 foreign national offenders, who have served a prison sentence, were living in the UK at the end of September last year.

The Home Office figures sparked fury and fresh demands for Labour to further ramp up deportations. Immigration minister Seema Malhotra said: “We will continue to pursue deportation action against individuals living in the community rigorously, actively monitoring and managing cases through the legal process and working hard to overcome any barriers to removal.”. She dug out the stats in response to a parliamentary question from Tory MP Neil O’Brien, who lashed out at lefty lawyers thwarting removals.

He told The Sun: “The truth is that until the government stops putting human rights concerns over the British people, more and more dangerous foreign criminals will be on our streets when they should be being deported. “The number of people being deported in the past few years has collapsed and nothing the government is currently doing will fix that. “Many will also be living on benefits at the expense of British taxpayers.”.