The European Commission has contacted the Swedish authorities after it emerged they were planning to deport a 74-year-old British woman with severe Alzheimer’s because she did not have her post-Brexit paperwork in order.
At the same time, the office of the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is trying to ascertain the exact circumstances that have led to the removal threat faced by Kathleen Poole, who cannot speak, walk or feed herself and is bedbound in a care home.
Fears that the authorities in Sweden may carry out the threat to deport Poole were fuelled after the police got in touch with the Swedish embassy with a “formal request” for a travel document for her.
Poole’s son, Wayne, said he was concerned that if he applied for a new passport for her it would make inevitable and speed up the deportation process, which he was trying to delay in the hope someone steps in to save his mother.
“I am just exhausted by all of this,” he said. “The whole thing is draining. The hope is always there and we will do whatever we can to stop it.”
The British embassy has now told him “they are legally obliged to issue travel documents after the police request without your consent”, according to an official.
Poole said he doubts the police would be able to get his mother on a plane because of the huge logistics involved. She cannot walk and needs a hoist to be moved from her bed to a wheelchair in the care home.
“It is just not right,” he said.
The case has been described as “shocking” by Labour MP and former Brexit select committee chair Hilary Benn, who on Monday called on both London and Brussels “to put a stop to the deportation of a vulnerable British citizen”.
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are aware of this case and looking for any ways to make progress for the family.”
It is also understood that the foreign minister David Rutley, the MP for Macclesfield where Kathleen Poole is originally from, has also been in touch with her family to offer support.
Poole and her late husband sold up and bought a new home in Sweden 18 years ago to be close to her son and Swedish daughter-in-law and four young grandchildren. She developed Alzheimer’s at 63 and has been in a care home for the past 10 years.
She had permanent residency in Sweden but was required to renew that paperwork post-Brexit.
The application made by her family on her behalf was rejected on the grounds that her passport was not up to date and there was no financial paperwork showing she was self-sufficient.
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Angelica Poole, Kathleen’s daughter-in-law, said they appealed against the decision, explaining that the 74-year-old was incapacitated, bedbound and did not update her passport because “she wasn’t going anywhere”.
They were shocked when the police turned up at the care home to make an inventory of her wardrobe and personal belongings.
The European Commission said it could not comment on individual cases but added: “We are aware of this case and are in touch with the Swedish authorities.”
A spokesperson said that protections were put in place to protect UK citizens who had been lawfully in an EU member state before Brexit happened.
They said: “The withdrawal agreement has robust safeguards that ensure that any refusal must be proportionate and appealable to an independent domestic court.”
The treaty “protects those UK nationals who resided in an EU member state according with EU law before the transition period and who continue to reside there in accordance with the withdrawal agreement”, the spokesperson added.
The Swedish government has been contacted for a response, but said “by law” it was not allowed to comment on individual cases.