Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sri Lankan scientist faces deportation as Home Office provides contradictory information

Sri Lankan scientist faces deportation as Home Office provides contradictory information

A Sri Lankan scientist is facing deportation with his family after receiving contradictory information about his case from the Home Office, The Guardian reported.

Dr Nadarajah Muhunthan, 47, his wife Sharmila, 42, and their three children, aged 13, nine and five, came to the UK in 2018 after Muhunthan, who is working on thin-film photovoltaic devices used to generate solar energy, was given a prestigious Commonwealth Rutherford fellowship, the report added.


The award allowed him to come to the UK for two years to research and develop the technology. His wife obtained a job caring for elderly people in a nursing home.

According to the report, the family had experienced persecution in Sri Lanka as they were Tamils.

In November 2019, Muhunthan returned to his home country for a short visit to see his sick mother. While there he was arrested and persecuted by the Sri Lankan government.

He managed to escape and returned to the UK, where he claimed asylum on the basis of what he had experienced on his visit to Sri Lanka. After his scholarship expired in February 2020, neither he nor his wife were permitted to continue working, The Guardian report added.

A Home Office case worker sent an email on 20 September 2021, saying the family’s asylum claim was “under active consideration”, and another email on 11 October saying the asylum claim had been refused on 23 August – 28 days before the family were told their case was still under consideration, the newspaper reported.

The family had been renting accommodation in Bristol and all the children were settled at school there. Their eldest daughter, Gihaniya, received outstanding school reports with a 100 per cent attendance rate and was particularly praised for her achievements in science. She hopes to study to be a doctor when she is older.

According to the newspaper report, the Home Office moved the family from their rented accommodation in Bristol to a London hotel last month, uprooting all three children from school.

The two younger children now have school places but Gihaniya does not and is confined to the hotel.

When Muhunthan’s scholarship visa first expired, the manager of the nursing home begged the Home Office to allow Sharmila to continue working. “We are in dire need of trained healthcare staff and we urge you to consider Mrs Sharmila Muhunthan’s right to work for us as a matter of urgency,” her manager wrote. But, the request was refused.

A year after lodging his asylum claim, Muhunthan was given permission by the Home Office to work because his area of expertise was listed as a shortage occupation. However, although he applied for university research jobs, the fact that he did not have UK residency deterred prospective employers.

Both John Penrose, the family’s Conservative MP in Weston-super-Mare, where they previously lived, and their lawyer Naga Kandiah of MTC solicitors, who has issued a legal challenge against the Home Office about its handling of the case, criticised the department’s treatment of the family.

“This looks like a wholly avoidable situation which has been caused by UK visas and immigration working too slowly," Penrose wrote in a letter to Priti Patel.

"All asylum and human rights claims will be carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations," a Home Office spokesperson told The Guardian.

More For You

Starmer

Before the announcement, Starmer said the government could not avoid making difficult decisions and that the current benefits system was not sustainable.

Getty Images

Government announces disability benefit cuts, aims to save £5bn

THE GOVERNMENT has announced cuts to disability welfare payments, aiming to save over £5 billion by 2030. The decision comes as the country faces economic challenges, with slow growth and rising public spending.

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall told parliament on Tuesday that the changes were part of a "significant reform package" intended to help disabled people enter the workforce.

Keep ReadingShow less
NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams & Barry Wilmore Return Safely

As the astronauts prepared to return, they bid emotional farewells to their ISS colleagues

Getty Images

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore return to Earth on SpaceX Dragon from ISS

NASA astronauts, including Sunita "Suni" Williams, have finally returned to Earth after being "stranded" aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for more than nine months. The unexpected extension of their mission followed technical failures with Boeing's Starliner capsule, which was initially scheduled to bring them home shortly after their arrival in June 2024. Their journey back was completed aboard a reliable SpaceX Dragon capsule, which safely brought them back to Earth, marking the conclusion of their prolonged space mission.

A delayed mission home

The original mission for NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore was intended to be a brief stay on the ISS to test Boeing’s Starliner capsule during its first crewed flight. Williams and Wilmore arrived at the space station in June 2024, expecting to return to Earth within 10 days. However, unforeseen technical issues with Starliner led to the spacecraft’s return to Earth without crew, forcing the astronauts to extend their stay on the ISS by several months.

Keep ReadingShow less
Albanese-BAPS-Mandir

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese attended the celebrations, highlighting the festival’s message.

Australian prime minister attends Holi celebrations at BAPS Mandir in Sydney

THOUSANDS gathered at the newly opened BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Hindu Mandir in Kemps Creek, Sydney, on 15 March to celebrate the Fuldol Festival, part of the Holi festival.

The event drew attendees from across Australia and overseas, including the US, UK, New Zealand, and Japan.

Keep ReadingShow less
Thames Water sewage discharges up by 50% in 2024 amid debt crisis

Thames Water's ageing infrastructure is at the heart of the surge in raw sewage discharges

Getty Images

Thames Water sewage discharges up by 50% in 2024 amid debt crisis

Thames Water, the UK’s largest privatised water company, saw a 50% increase in raw sewage discharges into rivers across England in 2024, according to newly released data. The company, which is currently facing significant financial difficulties with a debt of £19bn, released raw sewage into rivers for nearly 300,000 hours over the past year, a substantial rise from the 196,414 hours recorded in 2023.

The alarming data was obtained through an environmental information request by Peter Hammond, a retired professor of computational biology from University College London, and shared with The Guardian. The figures highlight the growing environmental and infrastructural challenges facing Thames Water, which is teetering on the brink of collapse despite a recent £3bn bailout approved by the court of appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Katharine Birbalsingh

Katharine Birbalsingh stated that discussions on education were being influenced by identity politics rather than academic concerns.

Hamid Patel’s Ofsted role defended by Katharine Birbalsingh

KATHARINE BIRBALSINGH, popularly known as ‘Britain’s strictest headteacher’, has defended Hamid Patel’s appointment as the interim chairman of Ofsted.

Patel, who previously led Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School in Blackburn, will serve in the role until a successor for Dame Christine Ryan is chosen.

Keep ReadingShow less