Albanian criminal’s deportation halted because son doesn't like foreign chicken nuggets
10 February 2025, 08:10 | Updated: 10 February 2025, 10:07
An Albanian criminal had his deportation halted partly because his son had a distaste for foreign chicken nuggets, a tribunal has heard.
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Klevis Disha, 39, entered the UK illegally as an unaccompanied minor. He later gave a fake name and falsely claimed to be born in the former Yugoslavia.
Disha, who could still be forced to leave the UK, was stripped of his citizenship in 2021 after serving two years in prison when he was caught with £300,000 known to be proceeds of crime.
Following his conviction it was found he had acquired his citizenship “through deception”.
But an immigration tribunal ruled it would be "unduly harsh" for his 10-year-old son, known as 'C' in court documents, to return to Albania with his father owing to food sensitivities, sensory issues and difficulties communicating emotions.
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle revealed the Home Secretary had appealed the decision.
She told Nick: "The Home Secretary actually appealed that as soon as soon as it became clear that is the decision that's been made, that is not a final decision yet. The court processes aren't over yet. When we appeal things they often get overturned."
But, the minister did say she was 'astonished' at the decision.
She said: "My opinion - since I'm not a judge - (is) I'm fairly astonished but what we have to do is say we're serious about this, we've deported a lot of people regardless of whether they like chicken nuggets or not."
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Despite the young boy having no formal diagnosis, the court said deportation could impact his "emotional regulation, independence; reading and writing".
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper appealed the judgment in August last year, arguing there was not enough evidence to show Disha's deportation would be "unduly harsh" on his son.
Upper tribunal judge David Merrigan, who delivered the latest ruling on the case agreed, referring the appeal back to a new judge for further review.
"We can only see in the decision a single example of why C could not go to Albania," Judge Merrigan ruled.
"We are not persuaded that the addition of this sole example approaches anywhere near the level of harshness for a reasonable judge to find it to be 'unduly' so."
The case is ongoing.
A Home Office spokesperson, who said they did not comment on specific cases, said: "Foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes should be in no doubt that we will do everything to make sure they are not free on Britain's streets, including removal from the UK at the earliest possible opportunity.
"Since the election, we've removed 2,580 foreign criminals, a 23% increase on the same period 12 months prior."
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told The Daily Telegraph: "This case shows how bogus asylum seekers and foreign criminals are ruthlessly exploiting human rights laws and weak judges to stay in the UK."
