Algerian faces deportation after fiancee dies: MP attacks 'lack of compassion' by Home Office after fumes tragedy. Danny Penman reports

AN ALGERIAN allowed to stay in this country because he was engaged to marry a British woman is facing deportation following her death.

Said Medjedoub, 33, was given leave to remain in the UK last September because of his three-year relationship with Tracy Murphy, 19, whom he was due to marry last January. Ms Murphy died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning at the couple's flat in Hull in November 1993.

Mr Medjedoub, who believes his fiancee was the victim of a faulty gas fire, agreed to appear on an edition of BBC Radio 4's Face The Facts aimed at alerting the public to the dangers of unserviced gas appliances. It also alerted the Home Office to his change of immigration status and it ordered Mr Medjedoub to leave the country within 28 days. He was later given permission to stay for the inquest into his fiancee's death, expected in August or September.

Kevin McNamara, Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull North, said: 'This is a tragic case and it seems particularly harsh to boot him out like this. We say that because the in-laws regard him as their son-in-law and are prepared to back him with guarantees then he should be allowed to stay.

'The Home Office handled the original case decently once I raised it, but once Tracy died they seem to have acted with an extraordinary lack of compassion.

'Happily, this kind of case is very rare but this means there are no precedents to go by,' he said.

Mr Medjedoub arrived in Britain in 1985, and the following year began an MA in business systems at Hull University. He hoped to follow it with a PhD but was unable to secure funding. The couple met when they were both working in a restaurant in Hull in 1990.

Trevor Murphy, Ms Murphy's father, said: 'He's like a son to me. He is part of the family.'

The Home Office tried to deport Mr Medjedoub last year after his visa ran out. After six weeks in prison and after representations by local MPs, the Home Office agreed to allow Mr Medjedoub to stay in Britain so he could marry Ms Murphy. The couple had by then spent the pounds 1,000 they had saved in order to marry, lost the home they were planning to rent and had to move into a cheaper flat.

Mr Medjedoub travelled to London last November to sort out his immigration difficulties and returned to find that his fiancee was dead.

Nirmala Rajasingam, from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: 'This is an unfortunate situation. He had a long-standing relationship with this girl and it is inhuman to send him back.

'His life is here and the Home Office were happy for him to stay on compassionate grounds before the tragic incident. He should be allowed to stay now.'

A spokeswoman said the Home Office could not discuss individual cases, but added: 'People when they come into the country come here for a specific reason. If they want to change those reasons then they have to reapply.

'There are exceptional circumstances, either on compassionate grounds or strong ties to the country, in which an individual may be given leave to stay.

''There are certain legal channels they can go through and if an individual wants to change their reason for admittance then they have to go through them. If their circumstances change then they would need to reapply to the immigration service.'