He arrived in England in 1977. 50 years later he was told: ‘You aren’t a British citizen’

Wirral’s Nelson Shardey takes his fight to the Home Office

May 20, 2024

Dear readers — all dynasties must end; all empires eventually crumble. The city (or at least half of it) waved a tearful farewell to Jurgen Klopp over the weekend, after a remarkable near-decade as Liverpool manager.

This dynasty marches on relentlessly though. Today’s Big Story is about Nelson Shardey, a man born in Ghana who has lived in the UK since the 1970s, but whose British citizenship has been called into question. Elsewhere in today’s edition, we have some more recommendations for the Writing on the Wall literature festival and a great interview with Echo and the Bunnymen’s Will Sergeant.

Our weekend read came from a new name on The Post: Gareth Lemon. The piece told the story of Judi, a lesbian woman who had custody of her son taken from her in the 1970s. “Amazing story of Judi and her son George, which I hope will make people realise what single mothers went through simply because of bigoted ideas,” wrote one commenter.

Born into a bed pan, lived a life of shit

The Post

May 18

Born into a bed pan, lived a life of shit

Judi Morris has a go-to phrase to describe her son’s life: “He was born into a bed pan and lived a life of shit.” That birth, and that bed pan, came in 1972 at a hospital in Sutton Coldfield. The midwife was clueless — she handed Judi the bed pan “in case [she] needed to go to the toilet”. Then George Morris landed in it.

Read full story

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Of course, they have no plans to do so. This isn’t the first big legal threat we’ve had (The Post had a similar case earlier this year) and The Mill’s reporting on this is robust. This morning, its editor published a note to readers explaining why we are not backing down. He also released the application document that Sacha Lord’s company submitted to the Arts Council during the pandemic.

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The big story: He arrived in England in 1977. 50 years later he was told: ‘You aren’t a British citizen’

Top line: Nelson Shardey, the 75-year-old Wirral shopkeeper fighting to stay in the UK 50 years after arriving from Ghana, is taking the fight to the Home Office after raising almost £40,000 in a few days to fund his legal challenge.

Shardey’s case has made national headlines over the past few days, but in case you’re out of the loop, here’s the backstory. Shardey came to the UK on a student visa as a 28-year-old in 1977. From 1991 until he retired he ran Nelson’s News on Borough Road in Seacombe. But in 2019 — after applying for a passport to visit Ghana following his mother’s death — he discovered that he didn’t actually have British citizenship and had no right to be in the UK.

Bad news: He was told he needed to apply for a 10 year route to settlement. Despite being granted limited leave to remain in the UK, this was revoked in 2022 after he made a mistake on an application form. After 50 years in the country, working and paying tax, he was essentially told he wasn’t a British citizen.

Shardey with his two sons. Image: Nelson Shardey.

When the Seacombe community found out his right to remain in the country was under threat, they were aghast.

Despite originally arriving in Southampton in the 1970s to study accountancy, after a coup in Ghana his family could no longer afford to send him his fees. Since then, Shardey has worked a series of jobs in the UK
He has two sons in the UK, Jacob and Aaron, from his second marriage
In 2007 he saved a friend from a masked robber with a baseball bat and was given the Mersey Marvel award. When he retired the Wirral Globe called him a “local legend”
The current situation has left him with no access to public funds or pension credits

Shardey’s family have claimed he was given incorrect advice by the Home Office, who suggested he might be eligible to remain in the UK under the Windrush scheme. Shardey applied on this basis and waited a year for a response, only to be told he was not eligible after all. Through this period he was undergoing cancer treatment.

He is now attempting to bring a legal case against the Home Office in an attempt to establish himself as a British citizen and receive Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Shardey is crowdfunding to fight his legal case. Image: Nelson Shardey.

What followed was a crowdfunder which has snowballed to almost £40,000 in the past few days. Shardey said the response had left him “speechless” and his son Jacob, who set up the crowdfunder, said it proved “there are such good people who part with their money for a good cause like this.”

Speaking to the Echo, Shardey said:

I have worked all my life... I want to let people know what is going on. The unfairness. All cases should be regarded on merits, not like a wholesale rule. I'm not saying I should get special treatment but I have not broken any law all along. It would mean a lot.

If Shardey wins the case he has pledged to give the donation money to Wirral Foodbank and the Boaz Trust, a charity that supports homeless asylum seekers. You can take a look at his fundraiser here.

Your Post briefing

Jurgen Klopp said his final goodbyes to Liverpool over the weekend and received the ultimate tribute: being turned into a massive Superlambanana. The Superlambananas, seen around the city, were designed by artist Taro Chiezo for an art project in 1998 highlighting the impact of genetic engineering, but have since become much-loved symbols of the city. A 'Klopp-fied version, the ‘Superkloppbanana’ (dressed in his trademark tracksuit top) is being taken on a tour of the city as part of the German’s farewell celebrations. You can get a picture with the sculpture on Smithdown Road from next week.

Another day, another senior figure at Blue Coat falling on their sword. The Chair of Trustees at the highly prestigious but perennially crisis-struck school has stepped down amid an ongoing dispute between staff and the senior leadership. Extraordinarily, six people have now resigned from the position in a six year period. Staff are currently engaged in strike action after attempts to smooth matters over at a meeting between former head teacher Scilla Yates and union representatives in March went south. The Post revealed earlier this month that Yates had been accused of assault at the meeting, something the school strongly denies. Yates then stood down from her role, with talks ongoing to bring in a new interim head teacher.

The landlord of the Cookson’s Bridge in Sefton has expressed regret after images emerged of a Swastika cake at a Nazi-affiliated gig hosted at his pub last weekend. The day before the event, The Post reported that the gig was going to occur in Bootle but the location had not yet been revealed. We also reported that the event was to celebrate the birthday of Chad Charles, a prominent far-right gig promoter and that a number of bands with Nazi affiliations were booked to play (indeed, it was Charles pictured smiling alongside the Nazi cake). After the venue was finally revealed on the Saturday, Hope Not Hate say they repeatedly attempted to warn the pub’s owners about the event. The group who own the pub have now launched an investigation into how it was allowed to go ahead, and told the Echo of the landlord’s regret that he did not prevent it.

Post Picks

👗 Camp and Furnace are hosting another vintage sale this Sunday with all clothing just £20 for a kilo. The event starts at 10am and costs £3 to enter — get there early before all the best vintage finds are nabbed.

📖 As part of the Writing on the Wall literature festival, the Central Library is welcoming the Banned Book Club back for a special marketplace event. In 2023, PEN America counted 3,362 book bans in US schools. They say the authors targeted are predominantly female, black and/or LGBTQ+ writers. Head down to the library from 11am onwards on Saturday to participate in the sale and purchase of as many of these banned books as possible.

⚽ Head to Ropes & Twines on Wednesday for the launch of their latest exhibition At The Match, based on contemporary football images. The exhibition begins at 7pm and runs to 10pm — tickets cost £6.50 and include a glass of wine.

🎸 Electronic afro-funk band Ibibio Sound Machine head to Birkenhead on Saturday in support of their new album, Pull The Rope. The band are lauded for their jubilant, explosive live shows — make sure you grab a ticket to this one.

Home of the week

If you’re into sleek decor, this four bedroom semi-detached house on St Michaels Road might just be the one for you. It’s currently on the market for £485,000, and has two gardens and a summer house tucked away outside. The real showstopper though is the kitchen, with plenty of countertop space for cooking and integrated appliances throughout. Take the full tour here.

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