GP hit with deportation threat wins fight to stay
A TRAINEE GP who faced deportation from Britain over a technicality is set to be allowed to stay after a public outcry. The Home Office has announced it is abandoning legal proceedings to have Dr Luke Ong removed.
It follows a 270,000-signature petition from members of the public backing the 31-year-old Singaporean, along with the support of the Daily Mail, senior politicians, the British Medical Association (BMA) and Royal College of GPs.
Last night Dr Ong spoke of his relief, adding: ‘I’m really grateful to the Mail for standing up for me, and the support as a whole has given me the strength to carry on. I love this country and I want to live and work here as a GP.’ The doctor, who has lived in the UK for almost ten years, started his GP training at Tameside Hospital in Greater Manchester in 2014.
But he ran into trouble with immigration officials after mistakenly submitting a residency application 18 days late because of an ‘honest oversight’.
The Home Office last night said the GP’s case has been reviewed ‘following further representations’. The BMA added that it would have been ‘absurd’ for Dr Ong to be deported.
‘Strength to carry on’