HIV parents launch legal bid to stay in UK with son

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Dumisani Lungu, seven, was due to fly back to the southern African country yesterday with his parents Caroline Manchinjili and Brian Lungu, who are both in the final stages of Aids-related illnesses.

But hours before they were to leave Britain, they learnt the Home Office could not provide them with an appropriate escort, children's charity Barnardo's said.

The family's barrister will today lodge an application for permission to apply for judicial review of the decision to deport them.

Barnardo's warned that if the deportation goes ahead Dumisani - who is feared to be HIV positive - will watch his mother and father die in Malawi before himself dying an orphan.

Martin Narey, the charity's chief executive, said: "The future for this traumatised and vulnerable family is still completely uncertain. We will continue to press for them to remain in the UK."

The Home Office said it considered all asylum applications on a case-by-case basis and included all serious medical conditions or other compassionate circumstances.

But Mr Narey said the HIV treatment available in Malawi was so limited as to be virtually non-existent.

"In this case, as in other cases we have seen with Malawi, they have said because treatment is available the family can be returned," he said.

"We should just be very clear and the Home Office should be very clear - this seven-year-old boy will watch his mum and dad die and he will die because of that policy."

The family sought asylum in the UK in 2005, citing political oppression, but their case failed.

Mr Narey said about 20 HIV-infected children were facing deportation from the UK.

A Home Office spokeswoman declined to comment on the individual case but said: "The Government is committed to helping tackle HIV and Aids and is pushing hard for universal access to treatment and has set target spending of £1.5 billion over the next three years.

"It is important for the integrity of our asylum system that those found not to be in need of international protection are removed from the UK."