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Veteran with PTSD who served in Afghanistan faces deportation to Jamaica

The punch for this fellow, is unlike my friend who was from Mauritius whom served over 5 years and was granted UK cititzenship, is he didn't apply because he "wasn't aware" and didn't seek to sort out his immigration status in the article stipulated here

It is a bit of a p*ss take however as why shouldn't be allowed, let's be honest, the average tom, dick and harry whom serves in the "other ranks" isn't a full shilling when it comes to common sense decisions is it?

Twane Morgan says he was "let down by the system" after he was discharged from the army with little support.

skynews-twane-morgan-army_4548115.jpg


A former Commonwealth soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder says he feels "let down by the system" as he faces deportation.

Twane Morgan joined the British Army in 2004, and completed two tours of Afghanistan before being discharged with PTSD.

He now faces being deported to Jamaica, after serving a three-year prison term for stabbing his ex-partner’s father who attacked him with a hammer while the pair were drinking.

Mr Morgan, 36, who has five British children and a British partner, told Sky News that he "got no help at all" after being discharged from the army.
As he struggled to adjust to society his mental health declined.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and hospitalised three times, on one occasion for more than six months

"It was a really hard time when I left. I was getting flashbacks, I couldn't sleep, getting angry all the time about what the system has done to me," he told Sky News.

"That feeling, I don't know how to explain it. I feel let down because I served in the army I put my life on the line."

Mr Morgan's sister Tenisha Morgan told Sky News her brother "became a different person" after serving in Afghanistan, and was "left a shell" after seeing a friend killed in front of him.

"He was just left to go back into the community, left to fend on his own," she said. "He came back and didn't know how to get back to society."

After years of appealing the decision to deport him - during which Mr Morgan was held in a detention centre for several months - she has launched a petition in the hope that public support could help him stay in Britain.

Under government policy, any foreign national who has served more than one year in prison is automatically liable for deportation, which is seen to be in the public interest.

While there are some circumstances - such as children in the UK - that may overrule the decision, exceptions are rare, especially if a sentence is more than four years. Mr Morgan was sentenced to six.

His family say that Mr Morgan, who has lived in the UK since 2003, knows no-one in Jamaica. They fear his mental health will dramatically decline if he is removed from his support networks and family in the UK.

"If I go back I would have nowhere to live," Mr Morgan said. "It would mean all communication would be locked off, I wouldn't be able to see my kids and my partner.

"My son is 13. He understands that I'm facing deportation and he can't cope, because he understands that when I go he won't be able to see me."

During his appeals process, lawyers argued had he not developed PTSD Mr Morgan would have served five years in the military and been eligible for UK citizenship.

When he left the army with trauma, however, he did not know about the need to regularise his immigration papers, leaving him without status and now deemed an overstayer.

"Had he known, he would have applied for citizenship," Rachel Okello, Mr Morgan’s lawyer, told Sky News. "But he left the army a traumatised person and didn’t know what his status was."

Ms Okello believes the law should be changed so Commonwealth soldiers who are discharged on medical or mental grounds should be exempt from deportation and allowed full citizenship, as if they had served the full term.

"Deportation is not supposed to be an extra punishment.

"People are deported after a prison sentence because it is deemed to be in the public interest." Ms Okello said.

"We would like to show it is not in the public interest to deport someone who has served in the military."

Commenting on Mr Morgan's case, the Home Office reiterated its policy of deporting people who had been sentenced to jail terms in the UK.

"Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them," a spokesperson said.

"We have removed nearly 45,800 foreign offenders since 2010."
 
I’m torn on this one, yep he’s an ‘ero and all that, but they don’t give out 6 year sentences for nicking jelly tots so it must have been quite serious...
And I like this approach- “Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them," a spokesperson said.”

Is it so bad to be sent to the Caribbean? Not like his life is in jeopardy
 
I’m torn on this one, yep he’s an ‘ero and all that, but they don’t give out 6 year sentences for nicking jelly tots so it must have been quite serious...
And I like this approach- “Foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them," a spokesperson said.”

Is it so bad to be sent to the Caribbean? Not like his life is in jeopardy

I'd love to be sent to the Caribbean, that accent is sexy
 
PTSD doesn’t force you to stab someone. He did stab someone and was sentenced to six years.

The Army doesn’t encourage crap personal admin. He chose not to sort his admin.

Bye fella.

Well he was discharged for PTSD and as stated didn't get any care he was entitled to, he might well use the excuse "oh I didn't know..."

Again...
 
Well he was discharged for PTSD and as stated didn't get any care he was entitled to, he might well use the excuse "oh I didn't know..."

Again...
I agree entirely that support for servicemen medically discharged with PTSD is flawed and that government should be held accountable for it. This is not about PTSD support though. He chose to overstay and he chose to stab somebody, clearly seriously. Enjoy the sunshine.
 
If you look up the symptoms of bipolar disorder, I'm amazed he made it past the first few weeks of basic training without getting hoofed.
I reckon 2 tours qualifies him for citizenship though.
 
Go fellas, he does deserve some support, it's not like he's a drug dealer or committed any fraud or anything else, perhaps the system failed for not giving enough support, a story we hear far to often

Sign the petition here

Signed! you're totally correct - he made a VERY stupid mistake and paid the price for it with 6 years custodial. I hope he gets to be one of the few exceptions. Saying that, I went with the wife to the Caribbean last year..........:)
 
If there’s a genuine mental condition attributable to service he deserves support. I’d contrast with the thread about a certain Labour MP who’s trying to martyr herself to avoid prison.

The guy’s admin might be shit but he did two tours more than many of us.

I can’t help feeling that, like the Windrush returnees, he’s just an easy win.
 
Well he was discharged for PTSD and as stated didn't get any care he was entitled to, he might well use the excuse "oh I didn't know..."

Again...

Couldn't he get religion and use the catch all get out clause of mental health issues

That seems to work for a lot of people
 
I agree entirely that support for servicemen medically discharged with PTSD is flawed and that government should be held accountable for it. This is not about PTSD support though. He chose to overstay and he chose to stab somebody, clearly seriously. Enjoy the sunshine.

Well he's not quite Jack the Ripper, for 6 years probably ABH and I'm sure seeing as how this lovely government with its "robust policies on immigration" likes to bend over backwards for unwanteds fleeing from warzones and entering the country illegally, can give some flexibillity, a temporary admission stay etc would allow him to sort out his paperwork.
 
He was discharged after being diagnosed, he probably didn't have it at the time he enlisted...

Thought he was discharged for PTSD ?
You are born bipolar, there is no known cure and so he would have had it through basic training.
I have a relative who has it. otherwise strong and fit. Tried for RM twice, discharged twice on attitude. Nice lad but totally unsuitable, unable to switch aggression on/off/on/off.
 
Thought he was discharged for PTSD ?
You are born bipolar, there is no known cure and so he would have had it through basic training.
I have a relative who has it. otherwise strong and fit. Tried for RM twice, discharged twice on attitude. Nice lad but totally unsuitable, unable to switch aggression on/off/on/off.

Nope, I have a friend with it, she started showing symptons at the age of early 20's
 
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