Mum with sick child can stay in UK after MP intervenes

ANXIETY has turned to relief for a Wick woman threatened with deportation after the Home Office extended her leave to stay in the UK. Jirawan Jeffery, originally from Thailand, has been given an extra two years on compassionate grounds, as her daughter Jennifer, four, faces open-heart surgery at a London hospital in December.

The extension will allow her to complete an English language and "skills for life" course, enabling her to remain in the country permanently.

The Home Office's decision followed the intervention of Littlehampton's MP Nick Gibb, who took up Mrs Jeffery's case after meeting her and her husband, Peter Edney.

Said Mr Gibb: "I am delighted that the Home Office has responded so swiftly to my letter. The decision to allow Mrs Jeffery leave to remain in the UK is clearly the right one and it is encouraging that such a just decision has been reached. We all wish the couple's daughter Jennifer a swift recovery."

"We're very relieved," said Mr Edney. "My wife is a lot happier, but she knows she has to pass her exams in October. It would be good to have this qualification before Jennifer goes into hospital and have one less thing to worry about.

"We're very grateful to Mr Gibb for his support."

The couple, of Gladstone Terrace, also have a three-year-old son, Jimmy and had been told by the Immigration and Nationality Directorate that Mrs Jeffery had to leave the country "as soon as possible", because her English was not good enough.