Q: Marion (email) – I cannot believe that the young Afghan who has such a cast iron case for protection and who has now been so traumatised can possibly be refused leave to remain. Can you explain what sort of case UKBA will STILL able to make a case in the courts for his removal/deportation.

A: Francesco – Thanks Marion – You’re right to say that the courts will be involved, and also people can ask the UKBA to look at the asylum case again if there is new information to back up what they have said. Hopefully, as you say, the compelling evidence will be taken into account, although we often see decisions made on asylum claims that surprise us and seem to come to a completely different conclusion than most reasonable people would. UKBA (and others) assume that if the family is still in the country of origin the child can simply go back and be safe, but that’s often not the case. For years, in many different countries, families have had to make the incredibly painful decision to send their child to another place to make sure they will be safe. This is what happened with the Kindertransport and those of us who have never been in this situation can only imagine how hard this must be.