‘We are overjoyed’: the family finally united in the UK after fleeing Yemen

Half the Hareth family obtained visas, but three sons faced years of danger and uncertainty, until they were recognised as refugees

A refugee family have celebrated their first festive season safely together in two and a half years after the Home Office abandoned threats to deport three of them because they arrived in the UK on a small boat.

The Hareth family – mother, Ferdowz, and father, Hussein, both 55, Hamzah, 27, Hassan, 25, Hazem, 24, and Azzam, 14, fled war in Yemen, but had very different journeys to the UK and contrasting experiences of dealing with the Home Office even though their circumstances were identical.