Health Tourism

A threat to the wellbeing of the British taxpayer who was deported in January has died in Ghana because she had a form of cancer which the country could not afford to treat. It serves her right for violating the conditions of her visa, of course. She was removed from hospital on 9 January, driven to Heathrow airport and flown to Accra, where she knew nobody. The Lancet described the Home Office's decision as "atrocious barbarism". The chief of the Border and Immigration Agency described the case as "sad", and noted that "The circumstances surrounding this case were not unique ... The case was carefully considered by both trained caseworkers but also through the independent judicial process". In other words, the actions of the British government do not have the excuse of barbarism. They were carefully considered, judicially upheld, bureaucratically rubber-stamped and dutifully carried out. It took five immigration officers to do the job. Perhaps they were afraid she would attack them with her wheelchair.