FORMER BRITISH soldier Joram Nechironga was almost deported by mistake despite government officials confirming to Nechironga’s lawyer that the deportation had been put on ice until an appeal is heard.

In what appears to be a mix-up in the Home Office, Nechironga was taken from Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, near Heathrow, and transferred onto a bus before being driven towards the airport.

After making a series of phone calls Melch Riyo, from Tann Law Solicitors in Coventry, confirmed that he had got Home Office officials to tell the enforcement officers on the bus that Nechironga should not be deported.

Zimbabwean national Nechironga spent five years fighting in Iraq as a British soldier, and developed post-traumatic syndrome – and a range of other mental health conditions, as well as alcoholism – as a result of trauma suffered in combat, his lawyers insist.

He went on to commit a string of traffic offences and common assault against his son, as a consequence of untreated PTSD, leading the Home Office decision to deport him.

In a forthcoming appeal, his lawyers will argue that Nechironga has turned his life around since seeking help, and that he was previously tortured in Zimbabwe when accused of being a British spy, and warned never to return.

Speaking to The Voice yesterday, his local MP Zarah Sultana, said: “Joram was scarred by his time on the frontline with the British army, but he served his time and has rebuilt his life in Coventry.

“To deport him to Zimbabwe would be cruel beyond belief, tearing him away from his family and putting him at risk of persecution. The Home Office must immediately drop this threat and reunite Joram with his family here in Coventry.”

Sultana raised the issue in the House of Commons yesterday, and has got the immigration minister Tom Pursglove involved, communicating with him today over the deportation mix-up.

It is understood that Nechironga will be going into the airport today, as there are other Zimbabweans on the same bus that the Home Office intend to deport tonight

Campaigners are gearing up to oppose the charter flight, with Detention Action warning that tearing families apart was a “racist and unjust policy.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are investigating to understand whether lessons can be learnt from Mr Nechironga’s case.

“The New Plan for Immigration will fix the broken immigration system and stop the abuse we are seeing by expediting the removal of foreign national offenders and those who have no right to be here.”