LAWYERS for a Hong Kong family about to be deported from Britain applied yesterday for a full judicial review of their case. If the bid fails, Cheung Ka-fu, 48, his wife Kit-ying, 44, and their two children are expected to be deported soon. The Cheungs have lived in Britain for 10 years after working in the Netherlands. Only one of their two children, Alan, 15, has been to Hong Kong, when he was five months old. Both he and his sister, Helen, 11, speak little Chinese. They were originally due to be deported in February after Home Office officials noticed Mrs Cheung had overstayed a visitor's permit when she applied for a new passport. The family work in a fish and chip shop in Manchester and their case has won widespread local support. The original deportation date passed but, last month, a Home Office letter to the family's MP said they were to be deported soon. Yesterday, their lawyer George Brown said he was asking the High Court in London for a full judicial review of the case. 'I am asking the court to consider whether or not the Secretary of State's decision has been reasonable in all the circumstances,' he said. 'The court should run through the whole story of what has happened to the family but first we have got to obtain permission from it for the judicial review.' Mr Brown said the Cheungs were confused about what was happening but had not given up hope of staying in Britain. Those campaigning for the family believe they still have a good case as they have been hard-working members of the community and appear to have stayed in Britain in the innocent belief they were allowed to do so.
