Michael’s ordeal

‘I felt so alienated’

Michael Braithwaite, 66, was nine when he moved to Britain from Barbados in 1961 and his three children and six grandchildren were all born in the UK.

For the past 15 years, he worked as a special needs teaching assistant at a London school.

But 18 months ago, he lost his job after being unable to prove he had a right to stay in the UK. “It has been so traumatic,” he said. “The Home Office wanted records that just didn’t exist. I felt alienated. I needed a biometric card to stay in my job but they wouldn’t give me one.”

But the media attention on his case appears to have worked – the Home Office has now issued a biometric card.