Palestinian refugee takes legal action against Home Office

A Palestinian refugee is taking legal action against the Home Office over what he says is in effect a refusal to grant visas to his family in Gaza.

The Home Office rejected the man’s request to allow his wife and four young children to apply for visas without giving fingerprints.

Two of his children caught hepatitis A, which the World Health Organization says is spreading in Gaza.

A court anonymity order means the man and his family cannot be identified, for their own protection.

But in a witness statement to the court, he said he “wanted to die” when he had heard about the Home Office’s decision.

People with refugee status can apply for family-reunion visas for their family members to join them in the UK without going through the asylum system themselves.