The widow of a British man whose “suspicious” death in London remains unexplained, according to his family, is facing deportation to Myanmar and fears being targeted by its brutal military.
Pan Ei Phyu has been told by the Home Office that she cannot settle in the UK. When the “traumatised” 32-year-old’s visa expires in two weeks, she faces being sent to a country that last month jailed the UK’s former ambassador to Myanmar.
Her lawyers call the decision “woeful” and unlawful, claiming it even contradicts Home Office policy.
Pan Ei Phyu says she shouldn’t be deported while questions remain over the death of her husband, Ramsay Urquhart, in April 2019.
Last week Urquhart’s father contacted his MP to intervene and call for a fresh inquest. A coroner concluded last year his son had died of natural causes, but Murdo Urquhart believes he was murdered. “I want the whole case looked at again.”
A 65-page report by the police watchdog documenting the circumstances of the death in an east London flat reveals details that his family say raise new questions over possible foul play. The report, which has not been made public, says Urquhart, from Inverness, was found “lying face down on the bed, the duvet wrapped tightly around him and clasped by both hands underneath his chest”. This was four days after he had complained to the Metropolitan police about receiving nuisance calls.
Urquhart, it adds, called police on 14 April to complain about “endless calls from an unknown number”. On that day he had already received 14 such calls. He described the calls as “constant torture” that made him feel a “little suicidal”. When asked by police: “Do you feel you are being targeted?”, Urquhart responded: “Yes.”
A Met investigation “deemed the death to be unexplained but not suspicious” after Murdo Urquhart raised concerns. But Pan Ei Phyu told the Observer: “We still don’t know what caused him to die. The coroner didn’t give an exact answer. He had type 1 diabetes and used to call every day when he woke up, but for three days he didn’t call me. We don’t know what happened, it is unexplained.”
Urquhart, 33, met Pan Ei Phyu in China, where he was teaching English, but returned to the UK in 2019 to look for a job. She planned to follow and the couple wanted to settle in Britain. She had previously been refused a visitor visa for the purpose of meeting her husband’s family.
After Urquhart’s death, Pan Ei Phyu was granted a visa to attend his funeral. This was extended as the investigation into his death unfolded. In August 2020, she applied to live permanently in the UK as a bereaved partner. However, a year ago the Home Office refused her application to make the UK her permanent home, offering a 12-month stay instead.
Her lawyers believe the case’s extraordinary context should have been considered, a view backed by the high court, which ruled in May that the Home Office must consider its exceptional circumstances.
Although the Home Office agreed to reconsider its decision not to allow her to settle permanently, it has since confirmed it.
Naga Kandiah, a public law solicitor at MTC Solicitor said: “This is not only wrong but a flagrant insult to the high court’s ruling.
“The manner in which the Home Office has dealt with this case has been woeful. Our client, who is already traumatised and bereaved, having lost her Scottish-born husband, has had her case largely ignored by the Home Office. “The Home Office has failed to consider its own policy and powers to grant discretionary indefinite leave to remain. Failure to address the factual circumstances put forward in my client’s case is unlawful.”
Pan Ei Phyu, who is working as a carer in London but wants to become a nurse, fears that being sent to Myanmar could leave her dangerously isolated.
“I am very stressed. It’s different for a woman there if you have been married before. Plus, I have lost all my business because the regime has taken it over. I already have a lot of trouble,” she said.
Although the Urquhart family and Pan Ei Phyu argue the cause of death is unclear, the inquest heard it was likely Ramsay suffered a diabetic attack or possibly “sudden adult death syndrome”.
A postmortem found his death was most likely related to diabetes, but due to the poor preservation of the body concluded the cause was “unascertained”. Police found no signs of forced entry to his flat and paramedics considered the death non-suspicious. Yet Pan Ei Phyu says among the unexplained factors is what happened to her husband’s laptop, which she claims has never been found. Murdo Urquhart claims that no one from the family was allowed to see the body before it was cremated, or asked to give DNA proving the body was Ramsay.
An Independent Office for Police Conduct investigation found officers complied with all policies and guidance and responded correctly to the call from Ramsay. The Met and Home Office have been contacted for comment.
