Ghanaian mother who force-fed baby to death wins human rights appeal to stay in Britain

The baby died of pneumonia caused by inhalation of food into her lungs

The Home Secretary, Theresa May (Getty Images)

A Ghanaian nurse who force-fed her baby to death will not be deported after a court ruled it would breach her right to a "family life".

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been granted permission to live in Britain indefinitely after a bid to deport her was overturned under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) , which protects the right to a "family life".

The nurse, 33, was jailed for three years after she force-fed her 10-month-old daughter to death in 2011. The baby died of pneumonia caused by the inhalation of food into her lungs. The woman was released from prison in April after serving her three-year sentence.

Her criminal history and the length of her sentence made her liable for automatic deportation under Home Office rules, which state that any foreign national sentenced to 12 months or more can be "automatically deported unless they can show that this would breach their rights".

Home Secretary Theresa May attempted to deport the nurse after she had served her sentence, but the woman, who can only be referred to GHA after winning lifelong anonymity, lodged an appeal and won her case, citing Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Previous attempts to deport her were rejected after she appealed and won her case at a lower immigration tribunal in February. A further appeal to overturn the tribunal's ruling failed last month meaning the nurse, who came to the UK on a student visa in 2000, will be allowed to stay in the UK.

The nurse now lives with her partner and her three surviving children in a London flat after social services concluded the children were under "no significant risk of harm" and described them as a "close, committed family unit".

The Home Office is set to appeal against the tribunal’s decision.

A spokesman added: "We firmly believe foreign nationals who break the law should be deported. We are disappointed by the tribunal's decision in this case and are seeking to appeal against it.

"Through the recently passed Immigration Act, we are making it easier to remove people from the UK and harder for individuals to prolong their stay with spurious appeals, by cutting the number of appeal rights from 17 to four.

"It will also ensure that judges deal with Article 8 claims in the right way — making clear the right to a family life is not regarded as absolute and unqualified."