The Daily Mail (London, England), Feb 13, 2003, p.10
So
why did they pick on Mary?; Thousands of bogus asylum seekers are allowed to
stay here. Yet this devoted grandma, who has lived in Britain all her life, was
given 7 days to get out.
by Angela Levin; Peter Allen.
A GRANDMOTHER of
ten who has lived in Britain since she was two wept tears of relief last night
after the Home Office lifted a deportation threat against her.
Mary Martin, a
pillar of her community in the Suffolk village of Trimley St Mary, had been
branded an illegal immigrant and given a week to leave.
The order was the
final blow in a 17-month nightmare during which she tried to prove her status,
but was treated with contempt by the same system that allows around 200 illegal
immigrants a day to vanish in the UK.
Mrs Martin, a 55-year-old school cleaner, had been preparing to go into hiding herself as a
last resort before officials admitted yesterday they had made a terrible
mistake.
This has been the
most horrible experience of my life. I just dont know why I was persecuted in
this way, she said.
I am not an
educated woman. I left school at 16 and its been very hard for me to know
where to turn or what forms to fill in. I couldnt find a single official who
was on my side or would help me. Mrs Martin was born in the U.S. after her British
mother June married an American airman.
The marriage broke
up and her mother returned to Britain with her daughter, then two.
Mrs Martin has not
left this country since, and has had four children and ten grandchildren, all
born here.
It was only when
her mother died from lung cancer in March 2001 and she was sorting through her
papers that she realised she had never been registered as a UK citizen.
She decided to
apply for a passport and her nightmare began. Id never sought proof before
because I never wanted to go abroad, she said. Weve only ever been on
caravan holidays in this country.
I went to the
Home Office and saw an official in September 2001. They treated me like scum
and made it obvious they just wanted rid of me.
I had taken all
the paperwork I thought they wanted, including my birth certificate, my
American passport, mortgage receipts on the house Ive owned for 22 years, my
mothers marriage and death certificates. I also gave them a pile of wages
slips to prove I didnt live off the State.
They told me in a
brutal manner that they werent interested in anything I had brought.
Instead, they
asked for a letter from my doctor to say he had seen me once a year for ten
years. Fortunately I later managed to provide that. But nothing in her
impressive package of documentation was enough to convince the overzealous
officials.
They were not even
prepared to accept that she had been here for 14 years, the length of time
which would normally give her the right to exceptional leave to stay,
regardless of the legality of her position.
The first official
response was a letter saying they would deal with her case within six months.
After that she
heard nothing and towards the end of last year sought help from the head of the
school where she works, then from her MP John Gummer.
Her anxiety grew
as the months passed without news.
Then last Friday
she heard the worst. I got a note saying there was a recorded delivery letter
at the Post Office. I went to collect it and read that I had a week to leave
the country. My legs gave way and I collapsed in the street. I just lay on the
pavement crying. The last week has been sheer torment. I was on the verge of
a nervous breakdown, she said. I didnt dare answer the door for fear it was
the immigration people coming to deport me.
Its not just me
who has suffered. My poor grandchildren thought they were going to lose their
granny. In her desperation, Mrs Martin contacted the Law Society for legal
help. They gave her a list of solicitors. I telephoned six firms but not one
showed the slightest interest in helping me, she said.
I couldnt help
feeling how different this was from the wealth of free legal advice that is
available to illegal immigrants. The about-turn came after a local paper told
her story. Mr Gummer contacted the Home Office and last night officials
admitted their mistake.
The Immigration
Minister Beverley Hughes reviewed the case and decided that Mary Martin will be
granted indefinite leave to stay in the UK, said a spokesman.
This was clearly
a mistake and defies commonsense. We will investigate this thoroughly to ensure
that lessons are learned. Mr Gummer said: I have never seen a case as bad as
this in all my time as an MP. Mrs Martin, whose 1965 marriage ended in divorce
and who has lived for 12 years with her partner Ted Harrod, 61, said: I
consider myself British from my head to my toes.
Now I am just so
happy that I want to cry. But I wont really believe it till I have it in
writing.
Which one do you
think should be deported?
BORN
Baltimore,
Maryland in 1947, the daughter of English-born June and US airman James Martin.
ARRIVAL IN BRITAIN
Moved back home to
Ipswich, Suffolk, with her mother in 1949 after the troubled marriage came to
an abrupt end. June went on to marry her childhood sweetheart and brought up Mary
alongside four younger children.
FAMILY
At age of 18,
married Michael Wells, who she met at school in Ipswich.
Together they had
three children, Tony, now 36, Lorraine, 35, and David, 32, who served in the
Army and fought in the Gulf War. After splitting up with Mr Wells she had a
fourth child, Kathy, 31, with her new partner. She also has 10 grandchildren.
HOME
Has owned her
semidetached house in Trimley St Martin, Suffolk, for 22 years.
She shares the
property, and the mortgage, with partner Ted Harrod, 61, a self employed
builder.
CONTRIBUTION TO
BRITAIN
Was given a
National Insurance number at the age of 16 and has been working ever since.
Started out as a child minder for an American couple, on 30 shillings a week,
then became a partner in a catering business in Felixstowe.
Now works as a
part-time cleaner at the local primary school. Has lived in Suffolk for 54
years and has not been abroad, preferring caravan holidays in the British
Isles.
TAX/BENEFITS
In almost 40 years
of steady employment Mary has paid more than £100,000 in income tax and
National Insurance contributions.
She was a higher rate
taxpayer for many years until her business folded in the mid 1980s. Total
benefits have amounted to just £2,000 in child support and a few weeks of
single parents tax allowance, in the aftermath of her divorce. Now earns
around u150 a week.
IMMIGRATION STATUS
Declared an
illegal immigrant and given 10 days to leave the country.
Massive public
outcry prompts last minute Home Office U-turn.
SHEIKH OMAR BAKRI
MOHAMMED
BORN
Aleppo, Syria, in
1958, he claims to be the 26th son of wealthy orthodox Moslem family and
studied Shariah law in Damascus.
ARRIVAL IN BRITAIN
Became an agitator
for the Syrian Hizb ut-Tahir - translated as Liberation Party - which was
planning a coup detat, and was deported. He moved first to Beirut, then to
Saudi Arabia and finally arrived in Britain in 1985.
FAMILY
Married with a
Lebanese wife, he has six children.
HOME
Council house in
Edmonton, North London, worth £300,000 on the open market.
CONTRIBUTION TO
BRITAIN
None.
Spends his time
running radical organisation Al-Muhajiroun from office in Tottenham, North
London. It claims to be eyes, ears and tongue of Hamas, the Palestinian
terror group. Close links with the one-eyed cleric Abu Hamza, recently banned
from preaching at Londons Finsbury Park Mosque following police raid. Despite
enjoying benefits of British tradition of free speech for 18 years, says: I am
against manmade laws and democracy is a manmade law. It is the fruit of
depravity.
We share the same
beliefs and objectives as the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
TAX/BENEFITS
Receives around £300
a week in benefits £85 income support, £50 housing benefit, £70 child benefit
and £100 disability allowance. In total he has received more than £200,000 from
the taxpayer since 1985 Ð but has not paid a penny in tax.
IMMIGRATION STATUS
A year after he
arrived in Britain, his passport was cancelled by the Saudis. He claimed
political asylum and was granted indefinite leave to stay the authorities
acknowledged that he would be in danger if he were to be returned to either
Saudi Arabia or Syria because of his political activities.
Follow-up
stories
Grandmother
deportation plans on hold, Daily Mail, 11th Feb. 2003
Grandmothers
joy as deportation lifted, Daily Mail, 12th Feb. 2003