A British woman with the mental age of
a child was forced to marry a Pakistani immigrant and have his baby so
that he could gain the right to live in Britain.
A secret court heard that the 37-year-old, who has a reading age of seven, was slapped around the face by her mother to make her smile for her wedding photograph.
The judge’s ruling, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals that fears were raised she was being ‘manipulated’ and her parents were being paid £20,000 to marry off their daughter to the Muslim student, who was facing deportation.
But despite concerns, registrars allowed the ceremony to go ahead and the woman’s husband, 33, is now using his human right to a family life as a reason to remain in the UK, despite the ‘grossly cruel’ ploy.
The case came to light in the Court of Protection – which has the power to make life-or-death decisions on behalf of people deemed to lack mental capacity – and can be revealed today after an anonymised judgment was published.
The judge in the case, Mrs Justice Parker, said: ‘I think there is a very significant possibility that this marriage was entered into, and indeed this child created, for reasons solely to do with immigration status.’
A secret court heard that the 37-year-old, who has a reading age of seven, was slapped around the face by her mother to make her smile for her wedding photograph.
The judge’s ruling, seen by The Mail on Sunday, reveals that fears were raised she was being ‘manipulated’ and her parents were being paid £20,000 to marry off their daughter to the Muslim student, who was facing deportation.
But despite concerns, registrars allowed the ceremony to go ahead and the woman’s husband, 33, is now using his human right to a family life as a reason to remain in the UK, despite the ‘grossly cruel’ ploy.
The case came to light in the Court of Protection – which has the power to make life-or-death decisions on behalf of people deemed to lack mental capacity – and can be revealed today after an anonymised judgment was published.
The judge in the case, Mrs Justice Parker, said: ‘I think there is a very significant possibility that this marriage was entered into, and indeed this child created, for reasons solely to do with immigration status.’
