From George Murphy

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

I wonder if people across the political spectrum have been appalled by the news of Irene Clennell, who was ejected from this country on Sunday? Perhaps they don't know about the case, because I have not found mention of it in Conservative supporting media.

For the crimes of being born in Singapore, spending time there to care for her dying parents and having a sick husband who earns less than £18,600 a year, she was arrested, held in a detention centre and deported back to Singapore with the £12 she happened to have in her purse and the clothes she stood up in. Irene has been married to Jon for 27 years and lived in County Durham, where they have two UK born children in their 20s and a grandchild.

On a local level, friends of ours have a son who fell in love with a non European woman. They live in her home country, although he grew up in Hebden Bridge and went to local schools. They married in Todmorden. She is well qualified and her husband has stayed at home as the main carer for their baby daughter.

Her family belong to a minority religious group which has suffered persecution and has second class status. He wants to return to the UK with his family, but can't do so unless he obtains a job paying more than £18,600 (47% of working adults in the UK receive less than that amount). His wife fervently desires to continue in work and contribute to life in England, but the rules prevent that from happening. These regulations have been imposed by a Conservative party which is supposed to value marriage.

Theresa May once talked about the Tories being seen as the Nasty Party, but she seems to have decided that this is now to her political advantage. I've seen demonstrations in Hebden Bridge against Trump's attempts to prevent Muslims from making trips to his country. But this is even worse: UK families are being broken up and deportations are taking place on ethnic and class lines and our courts have agreed that it is all legal!

(Details of the local family have been supplied to the Editor)