At the airport, Border Force said Mr Baptista did not have enough evidence to prove he had been living in the country before 31 December 2020, the cut-off date for applications the government had set.

Mr Baptista and his three children, for whom he had not yet made a pre-settled status application, were given three days to leave the country.

But Mr Boyle said airport staff had completely ignored the fact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and a judge had already accepted Mr Baptista was living in the country before the cut-off date.

They had done this when Mr Baptista had been forced to appeal an earlier application.

“How are they able to overrule that decision?” he said.

Mr Boyle said it would be particularly disruptive for Mr Baptista’s children to leave.

“It is halfway through the school year,” he said.

Settled status applications are now pending for the entire family.

The threat of deportation “hangs” over all of them, Mr Boyle said.