Illegal migrant in fatal hit-and-run will not be deported

AN ILLEGAL immigrant who killed an Oxford University graduate in a hit-and-run accident will not face deportation.

A High Court judge ruled that sending Ahsan Sabri back to Pakistan would be a breach of his human rights and "respect for a family life". Sabri, 28, was unlicensed and not properly insured when he drove though a red light in Brixton at 60mph in June 2004, and knocked down 30-year-old Sophie Warne as she returned home.

Ms Warne, who was a published writer and was just about to announce her engagement, died instantly. Sabri was jailed for three years in July 2005 after being found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving. Last year, an immigration tribunal ruled that he should be deported.

But funded by legal aid Sabri, who lives in Grays, Essex, with his British wife and their 18-month-old daughter, appealed against the decision. Lord Justice Sir Martin Moore-Bick overturned the decision having accepted Sabri's claim that his wife may have trouble finding a job in Pakistan and could suffer "broadly based threats and difficulties" as she is a Christian.

The Home Office is thought to be deciding whether to continue the fight for deportation.