Euro-MP seeks answers on deportation case

16th January 2008

EURO-MP Glenys Kinnock has today demanded answers from a UK Minister over the decision to send a dying woman back to Africa.

In a letter to Home Office Minister Liam Byrne, Glenys Kinnock calls for a full explanation as to why the case of Ama Sumani did not qualify under the "exceptional circumstances" provision.

The MEP, Labour's European spokesperson on international development, says the case deserved to be treated with "humanity and compassion". She has also written to the UK High Commissioner in Ghana requesting his frank assessment of the treatment that Ama can expect - and afford - in Ghana.

In the letter to Liam Byrne, GLENYS KINNOCK says:

"The UK Border and Immigration Agency has a clear provision allowing for the consideration of "exceptional circumstances". What they clearly failed to take into account was whether Ama would be able to afford the treatment she requires back in Ghana.

"The fact is that Ama would require an unaffordable deposit of £3,000 in order to secure her treatment for the next three months, and the treatment would only be available in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, far from her home in the north of the country.

"I would welcome clarification on the reasons that Ama did not qualify for the category of "exceptional circumstances". I would also appreciate information as to why a judicial review of her case did not take place.

"Ama's plight is clearly a life and death issue. This is a case that demands both humanity and compassion. I don't think that I am over-dramatising the situation if I say that the continuation of the status quo would constitute a death sentence for Ama."