A father who risks being sent to a war zone. Just one case the home secretary says is ‘too complex’ to clear

A Yemeni father who has been waiting over a year for his asylum claim to be processed has told how the Home Office botched his family’s application, sending his wife an ID card bearing a strange man’s photo.

The applicant, a successful designer who has lent his talents to the UK film industry and who wants to avoid being sent back to a war zone, told this newspaper how the department also granted his family residency cards “in error”.

He said he and his wife experienced panic attacks as a result of the slow and error-prone process. Moving to the UK under a student visa, he said he has always paid his way in Britain, rising to manage fellow workers at a company in London, and that he cannot face returning to Yemen.

Details of his case, will raise questions about claims made by home secretary James