The Walker Case: Some Britons are more "Equal" than Others

John Walker, 62, is a British citizen who has been living in the UAE - United Arab Emirates, for the past 33 years. He has been in the care of Al Kuwaiti Hospital for the past month for severe haemorrhage. His residency visa and passport have expired.

After living for 33 years in the UAE, a 62-year-old British national ended up ill, illegal and with an expired passport.

For a month, John Garth Walker was treated at Kuwaiti hospital for severe haemorrhage which has affected his talking and also left him paralysed. He can barely talk and says he is lonely and wishes to go back home to his family.

Walker, who is discharged now, was admitted to the hospital by the police after the management of the furnished apartment found him seriously ill in his room.

Walker's residency visa was issued in 2005 from Al Ain and it shows that he was sponsored by a relative. His visa expired when his passport expired in 2008. As per his visa he is not allowed to work.

British officials are ignoring the plight of an UK citizen: Hospital refutes consulate's claims

The British Consulate said on Sunday it was following the case of a Briton who has been in a Sharjah hospital for more than a month.

But Al Kuwaiti Hospital said the consulate has not responded to its requests to take an interest in the case.

The hospital said Walker should be discharged, but his bills need to be paid.

"We tried several times to contact the British Consulate for some assistance with the Walker case, but there has been no response," a spokesman from Al Kuwaiti hospital said.

He said that when Walker was first admitted around 40 days ago, the hospital had contacted the consulate. Since then, a representative had visited only once, the spokesman said.

"A lady from the consulate gave us her phone numbers and then left. And despite our repeated calls, they are not responding. We even expected someone from the consulate to contact us after his story was published in Gulf News [yesterday], but the man is still being ignored," the spokesman said.

"Walker must be discharged. He should have been discharged more than a week ago. Nobody has visited him and there is a hospital bill that should be paid," he said.

However, Simon Goldsmith, a spokesman from the British consulate, told Gulf News yesterday that the consulate was following the case.

When asked to respond to the comments from Al Kuwaiti hospital, Goldsmith said he was bound by "confidentiality."

"I cannot comment on this. It is a confidential consular issue," he explained.

That is all he could say about the Walker issue, he added. He refused to give further details about the patient or his background.

in Gulf News


By Joana Morais

I must say that this is a sad case however this man has been living away from the UK for 33 years so why should the UK owe him anything?

Im not being cold here but this must happen to thousands of peopl living abroad and why should the UK supoort them all...or am I missing something here?