HC Deb 24 January 1986 vol 90 cc323-4W
Mr. Peter Bruinvels

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will arrange for Mr. Salah Abdessalem Ben Rabha to be deported on the grounds that his continued presence in the United Kingdom is not conducive to the public good; and if he will make a statement;

(2) if he will make a statement on the reasons why Mr. Salah Abdessalem Ben Rabha, a person required to leave the United Kingdom following the Libyan embassy siege, has now been re-admitted to the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Hurd

Mr. Ben Rabha was one of the 30 occupants of the Libyan people's bureau at the time of the shooting of WPC Fletcher on 17 April 1984. He was not a diplomat, but a locally engaged member of staff employed as a film technician. Following the severance of diplomatic relations with Libya and the lifting of the siege of the bureau, he was escorted along with other members of the bureau to Heathrow and embarked for Tripoli on 27 April 1984.

In September 1984, Mr. Ben Rabha applied in Paris for a visa to enable him to return to the United Kingdom. The application was refused on 15 November 1984 under the immigration rules on the ground that Mr. Ben Rabha's presence in this country would not be conducive to the public good having regard to his former employment at the Libyan people's bureau and the nature of his subsequent departure from the United Kingdom. This decision carried a right of appeal to the independent immigration appellate authorities.

Mr. Ben Rabha exercised his right of appeal, and on 2 September 1985 the appeal was allowed on the ground that, on balance, the strong compassionate circumstances outweighed the case for refusing the application. Mr. Ben Rabha had married a British citizen in 1973, and the couple had been resident in the United Kingdom since 1974. There were five children of the marriage, the youngest having been born in March 1984. There were no grounds in law to challenge the adjudicator's determination and a visa was therefore authorised for Mr. Ben Rabha, who was admitted to the United Kingdom on 30 October 1985 to rejoin his family. He was interviewed by the police on his arrival who intend to bring no charge against him.

Given all these circumstances there is no basis in which I would be justified in starting deportation action against Mr. Ben Rabha.