A Jamaican man who has lived in the UK for more than half his life and was facing imminent deportation has been allowed to reunite with his British family following a legal challenge.
Mark Nelson, 47, came to the UK in 2000 and established a car-mechanic business. He has five British children and a British partner. He faced deportation in 2022 after serving a four-year prison sentence for possession with intent to supply a class B drug, abstracting electricity, and two offences of racially aggravated intentional harassment. He has not committed further offences.
His deportation was initially cancelled, and he was tagged and required to report weekly. However, last month, Nelson was arrested, detained, and informed of renewed government plans to deport him to Jamaica. The Home Office provided him with a flight ticket for 7 August.
After lawyers offered pro bono representation following media reports of his case, an application for a judicial review was made. The Home Office subsequently cancelled the deportation and his flight ticket. This week, Nelson was granted bail and can return to his home in the north of England with his partner, Rachel Derbyshire, and see his children.
Nelson expressed his relief at leaving the immigration detention centre. Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors, who lodged the judicial review application, has also filed an appeal regarding his immigration case and made a referral to the national referral mechanism as a potential victim of modern slavery.
A Home Office spokesperson stated that all foreign national offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity.