Plan B Forum

A boy of seven is to move back to war-torn Iraq after a judge ruled he would have a 'significantly superior lifestyle' than the one he had in the north east of England.

The ruling came after an Iraqi Kurd, who fled to Britain more than a decade ago and claimed asylum, was given the green light to return to his homeland - and take his son with him.

High Court judge Mr Justice Cobb approved the plan after being told the youngster, who speaks English and Kurdish, had 'moderate learning difficulties'.

He then said 'special education provision' in Kurdistan would not be 'materially different'.

Detail of the case emerged in a ruling by Mr Justice Cobb after a hearing at the Family Division of the High Court in Middlesbrough.

Mr Justice Cobb said the man, in his late 20s, had obtained British citizenship after arriving in the UK in 2002 and worked in a fast-food restaurant in a town in the north east of England.

He said the boy’s mother and father had never married and were not together.

Several years ago another family court judge concluded that the boy’s mother had neglected his 'emotional needs' and ruled that he should live with his father.

The man has now married and wants to move to Erbil, Kurdistan, to be with his wife and family who, the judge was told, are 'part of Erbil’s middle class'.

He had applied for permission to take his son with him - permanently removing the youngster from the jurisdiction of England and Wales - and Mr Justice Cobb granted the application.

The judge said no one involved could be identified.