An illegal immigrant claimed to be a top pro footballer to fake his way into staying in the UK.
The conman, 38, told officials that he would be in danger if he went back to Iraq due to the owners of his supposed club’s fury at him bolting mid-season, reports The Sun.
But despite his fantastical story about being a professional footballer the man, known only as AMO, was able to make a series of appeals – and it’s sparked fury from a Tory MP.
Tory MP Nigel Mills, the MP for Amber Valley, Derbyshire, said: “As soon as it was discovered his story was fake, it should have been thrown out immediately.
“It’s a waste of taxpayer time and taxpayer money.
“There needs to be due process but there has to be a better and more cost-effective way to ensure spurious claims are dealt with quickly, instead of having a series of appeals.”
The asylum seeker first arrived in the UK in August 2018 – with the Home Office rejecting his application in 2019.
He had told officials that he’d escaped the deadly grip of his fake club as they’d hired gunmen to shoot his brother.
An immigration judge threw out his application last month saying the basis of his claim that involved being a footballer “was found to be an invention.”
The Sun reports it has been gagged from naming him by a court anonymity order.
A Home Office spokeswoman told Express.co.uk: “We do not routinely comment on individual cases.”
It comes as deputy chairman of the Conservatives Lee Anderson said that Britain should toughen up when it comes to dealing with illegal immigrants.
He said: “It doesn’t surprise me that thousands of people risk their lives every year trying to cross the Channel to get to this country.
“But the truth is we can’t support everyone who wants to come. So we’ve got to have a fair immigration system that works properly.
“That means those who break the rules and come here illegally can’t stay.
“I know the PM takes this seriously.
“He’s already given us the Illegal Migration Bill, so people who come here illegally have no right to claim asylum.
“When it’s gone through the courts, we’ll be able to detain them and send them back to a third country – whether that’s their own or somewhere like Rwanda.”
