AN Indian mother-of-two living in Scotland who the Home Office has admitted is a victim of human trafficking has been refused asylum here ... by the Home Office.

The 42-year-old is from Chennai – formerly Madras – and was forced into prostitution there in 2007 after being sexually assaulted by a wealthy, and politically well-connected businessman (Mr B). He threatened to kill her husband if she told him what had happened.

Her daughter was then aged eight and the woman – whom The Sunday National is referring to as Mrs G to protect her and her family – later became pregnant with her son, but her nemesis would not leave them alone.

When they moved to Mumbai, he tracked them down with a gang of henchmen and told her he would kill her husband if she refused to carry out his wishes.

Mrs G moved to London on a student visa to continue her studies, but Mr B’s contacts traced her and again she was forced into sex. Since 2013, Mr B has been unable to secure a UK visa, but his henchmen continued to threaten the family, even when they moved to Leicestershire.

Mrs G had a post-study work visa with her husband and children as dependants. Between 2014 and 2017, they had leave to remain (LTR) and were living in Essex, when Mrs G, by then a suicide risk, was still being pestered. When their LTR was curtailed, she sought asylum for her and her family, but this was rejected.

Speaking to The Sunday National, she was clearly distressed and broke down several times: “The reason for me to come here as a student was I was being trafficked and I wanted to get away from that. But it continued when I was living here.”

The family came to live in Central Scotland two years ago. They stay in private rented accommodation and have been existing with help from friends and food banks.

Last year Mrs G’s husband became seriously ill and now receives dialysis several times a week.

“We’ve suffered a lot as a family and we can’t go back. I don’t want what happened to me to happen to them. If we go back he will definitely make sure they suffer.”

This newspaper has seen much of the official documentation relating to this case, including a Home Office letter telling Mrs G: “The Single Competent Authority has decided that you are a victim of modern slavery. We found the following types of exploitation occurred: Sexual exploitation in the UK and India between 2007-2013 … We will contact the police force involved in investigating your case to inform them of our decision.”

Mrs G said she now felt safe in Scotland: “All these years I know he has some friends, people in England, but not in Scotland. He doesn’t know anyone in Scotland, so we move here to get away from him.”

Martyn Day, the family’s constituency MP, said he was appalled that the Home Office told the family to leave within 21 days.

He said: “The immigration system needs a major review, to look at decisions on an individual basis and not a ‘one size fits all’ one. Nobody who has been subject to the abuse this family have experienced should be denied asylum.”

Mrs G’s lawyer in Scotland, Usman Aslam of Rea Law in Glasgow, said the circumstances were horrific, and added: “Whilst we were not involved in the initial asylum application, we are pleased to have received instructions here and will now proceed to appeal the decision to refuse the family protection in the UK. The case is not without its challenges, however we hope to achieve a positive outcome for the family.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “All applications are carefully considered on their individual merits, on the basis of the evidence provided and in accordance with the immigration rules. If an asylum claim is refused, an individual has 14 days to appeal the decision. They do not have to leave the United Kingdom during this period or if an appeal is pending.

“Confirmed victims of modern slavery are also able to be considered for a grant of discretionary leave.”