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Arnel Cabrera

A Filipino man has lost his right to remain in Britain - because his wife was killed by an NHS blunder, it was announced today.

Lawyers for Arnel Cabrera, 39, confirmed today that the Home Office had refused his application to stay in the UK.

Alex Rook, the solicitor who handled Mr Cabrera's immigration case, said: "This is an absolutely dreadful decision. If Arnel's wife had not been killed, the family would be living happily here.

"But because his wife is killed by one part of the Government (the -NHS), then Arnel is told by another part of the Government that he has to leave."

Mr Rook, of Irwin Mitchell, added: "I will be writing to the relevant Home Office Ministers asking them to reconsider their decision."

Mr Cabrera came to Britain in 2003 after his theatre nurse wife Mayra was recruited by the NHS to work at Great Western Hospital in Swindon.

But on May 11 2004, she died at the same hospital when a potent epidural anaesthetic was mistakenly injected into her arm rather than the space of her spinal cord in childbirth. The couple's son Zac, who survived, turns four this Sunday.

An inquest jury in Trowbridge returned a verdict earlier in February this year of unlawful killing, finding gross negligence manslaughter against Swindon & Marlborough NHS Trust and the midwife who administered the drip.

Mr Cabrera's personal injury lawyer Seamus Edney also reacted with disgust, saying: "I am staggered by this decision and embarrassed on behalf of our Government. Arnel was permitted to reside in Britain on the basis that his wife was working - but when she is unlawfully killed by gross negligence by the NHS, he is told he is no longer welcome."

mfl Page 2 David Masters, the Wiltshire Coroner, who presided over Mrs Cabrera's inquest, said today: "This is extraordinary. In view of the verdict reached by the jury following a long and detailed inquest and in view of my comments, I find it difficult to appreciate how the Home Office has reached this decision."

Mr Cabrera's letter of refusal from the Home Office's UK Border Agency said: "It is considered that (Mr Cabrera) has not established a family life with his son in the United Kingdom.

"As his son remains in the Philippines there are no insurmountable obstacles to his family life being continued overseas."

Mr Rook said Mr Cabrera had taken Zac back to his native Philippines following the death of his wife to be looked after by family members until the inquest and related legal proceedings had concluded in the UK, but it was always his intention - as it had been when Mayra was alive - to build a future in Britain.

Mr Edney, speaking from Swindon, said many of the other Filipino families who came across with Mayra have now received permanent residency.

Today's decision comes a day after Mr Cabrera announced he was giving the Home Office until next week to give him a decision either way.

He said he was desperately missing his son and intended to take him on holiday to celebrate his fourth birthday, having missed the previous three.

He said yesterday that he was aware, however, that taking back his passport and travelling abroad would effectively end his chances of staying in Britain.

Mr Cabrera said in a statement yesterday: "It had always been Mayra's wish that the both of us should make a new life for ourselves in Swindon and to see our son grow up in this country.

"Sadly, due to a tragic error at our local hospital, Mayra was taken away from me. As well as losing a much-loved wife, I now face the strong possibility that I will also lose my adopted home too.

"I had hoped in light of the publicity surrounding my wife's inquest, that the Government would deal with my application promptly and show me compassion and understanding."

A spokesman for the Home Office said: "All applications for leave to enter or remain are carefully considered on their individual merits. "

Mrs Cabrera died of a heart attack shortly after Bupivacaine, an anaesthetic to be administered epidurally, was wrongly fed through a drip into her arm.

The NHS trust admitted liability for the error as soon as it realised what had happened.

Following an investigation by Wiltshire Police, a decision was made by the Crown Prosecution Service not to charge anyone.

end Page 3 (reopens) Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: "We are shocked at the Home Office's cruel decision not to allow Mr Cabrera and his baby son to remain in the UK.

"If it had not been for the actions of the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust, Mr Cabrera, his wife and son would have been living the family life they had planned in the UK.

"All Mr Cabrera wants is to build the best life he can for his young son, who has already lost a mother.

"To force them out of country after such a tragedy is beyond comprehension.

"We are urging the Home office to reverse this decision."

3:51pm Friday 9th May 2008

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