Kurds lose fight to stay here

A family of Turkish Kurd asylum seekers are believed today to have been deported to Germany after losing their long-running battle to stay in Britain.

The Ay family are thought to be on a Channel Express flight from Stansted to Frankfurt. But the Home Office refused to confirm that the family were on the flight, which took off at 10.12am.

The family had claimed that if they were returned to Germany they would then be sent to Turkey, where they would face persecution.

The mother, Yurdugal Ay, lost her final appeal to remain in Britain on Thursday last week.

The case caused controversy as the children are believed to hold the record for minors being held in an immigration detention centre.