Reprieve for Leeds nurse fighting to keep husband in UK as temporary injunction stops deportation

A Leeds nurse fighting to keep her husband in the UK has been given fresh hope after securing a temporary injunction to prevent his deportation.
Damion Thompson pictured with his wife, Linda Rose, and stepdaughter Rebecca.Damion Thompson pictured with his wife, Linda Rose, and stepdaughter Rebecca.
Damion Thompson pictured with his wife, Linda Rose, and stepdaughter Rebecca.

Mental health nurse Linda Rose had launched an online petition calling on the Home Office not to deport her husband 10 years after he was jailed for possessing drugs and criminal property.

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Thousands back Leeds nurse's petition to stop Home Office deporting her husband

Damion Thompson - known to friends as Trimpy - was due to be deported to Jamaica on August 11 but remains in a detention centre near Heathrow Airport while the family awaits the outcome of a Home Office review of his case.

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More than 46,000 people have signed a petition hosted on the change.org website that calls on officials not to deport 43-year-old Mr Thompson.

Mrs Rose, 53, and the family's supporters have argued that the deportation is unjustified since he has stayed out of trouble since he was released from prison in 2012 and is a "fully rehabilitated family man".

She previously told the YEP: "I think the Home Office is using retribution as opposed to justice. They have shown no compassion."

As the number of signatures on the petition continued to rise, the family learned on Tuesday that they had won a temporary injunction to prevent the deportation going ahead.

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Updating supporters, Mrs Rose wrote: "Damion and our family have been given a temporary reprieve whilst the Home office reconsider his case and he remains in detention.

"Whilst this has given us a small breathing space please can I remind you to keep pushing the petition. It isn't over for us yet.

"Damion is still at high risk of being deported even though he has served his sentence and has not reoffended for nine years. The system is still stacked against him."

Mrs Rose, who works for Leeds and York Partnership NHS Trust and lives in Chapel Allerton, said her husband came to the UK from Jamaica in 2000. They met on a night out in Birmingham in 2001 and were married on August 31 2002, meaning they are due to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary later this month.

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She said Mr Thompson has also been a stepfather to her 21-year-old daughter, Rebecca, since she was 18 months old.

Mrs Rose said her husband had admitted an offence of dangerous driving in 2007 after performing a U-turn while trying to escape being attacked.

In 2011, she said he was convicted of possession of crack cocaine and possessing criminal property - namely £2,000 in cash. He was jailed for two years and served 14 months in prison.

Mrs Rose said her husband had secured a two-year spousal visa and applied for indefinite leave to remain in the UK before he was jailed.

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But on his release from prison in 2012, she said the Home Office declared that he had no right to remain and served him with a deportation order.

Mr Thompson, who has been fighting against the order ever since, has not been allowed to work or hold a driving licence since his release from prison. He has had to sign in at a Home Office registered centre on a regular basis.

The Home Office declined to comment when approached about the granting of the injunction, saying it did not discuss individual cases.

A Home Office spokesperson previously told the YEP: "We make no apology for seeking to remove dangerous foreign criminals and those with no right to remain in the UK.

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"Our new Nationality and Borders Bill will create an immigration system that is fair but firm, welcoming those in genuine need but cracking down on those who come to the UK illegally."

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