In a written judgment — the details of which can be reported in full following a successful application by BuzzFeed News to lift an anonymity order — the judge said Tapiwa had “provided a credible and plausible explanation as to the family's decision to leave Spain”.

She added: “If the purpose of the Appellant and his wife's relocation to Spain had been only for the purposes of circumventing the immigration rules as the Respondent contends, then they had gone to extraordinary lengths to do so. In my view, it is more likely than not that the explanation for the actions taken by the Appellant and his wife are more consistent with their evidence that they had intended to relocate to Spain but a change of circumstances had altered those plans for the long term.”

But even with that judgment in their favour, the couple are still locked in a battle with the Home Office. When they put in an application for a residency card the department refused it, arguing that they had not proved Elizabeth was exercising treaty rights in the UK as a student, even though she had sent proof of enrolment and a letter from the university proving she was attending classes. The couple have appealed against this and are waiting for a further decision from the immigration tribunal.

Labour’s shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said: “Unfortunately cases like this are all too frequent under this government’s hostile environment policy. We’re told now that Theresa May wants to double down on this flawed approach, as she comes under pressure in her own party.

“Deportations, detentions, and brutal treatment of people entitled to be here should have no place in Britain, or in any decent society. Labour will end this policy and replace it with a fair immigration system that operates in all our interests.”

In August 2017, following a complaint to the Home Office’s Professional Standards Unit (PSU), an investigating officer said force was justified in the raid as Tapiwa’s behaviour was “rather hostile”. The PSU said that officers had described him as “intimidating/aggressive” but gave no specific examples of aggression.

The PSU concluded: “After considering all of your concerns and based on the balance of probability, I found that the Home Office staff acted in a professional manner and followed Home Office procedures and guidelines. There was no evidence that any force used was excessive having regard to the prevailing circumstances.”

In December 2017, after Tapiwa complained about the PSU’s initial findings — and after the Home Office was aware that he had instructed a barrister — a senior investigating officer made a fresh report. He said that, having reviewed the evidence, it was his opinion that “more could have been done and I can offer my apologies for this on behalf of the Department”.

He added: “ln the light of evidence available to me, I believe that there exists doubt as to whether the visit to your home should, indeed, have been undertaken.” However, he maintained that “the officers, individually, acted appropriately in the circumstances to which they found themselves tasked”.

BuzzFeed News asked the Home Office detailed questions about its handling of Tapiwa’s case, including why his son was left alone, why he wasn’t allowed to dress, why more wasn’t done to interrogate the DVLA’s tip, and why, when Tapiwa said he would not be separated from his son, officers discussed calling child services instead of contacting his British wife.

In response, a Home Office spokesperson issued a statement saying only: “It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”

A DVLA spokesperson declined BuzzFeed News’ request for comment.

Meanwhile, Tapiwa still bears the emotional scars of the raid, too afraid to answer the door without double checking the street on a video monitor. That night he was frightened to sleep in his own bed and went to stay with his father-in-law. The idea of sleeping in the same room where he’d been wrestled to the floor by officers seemed impossible. Even now, he wants to move house and escape the bad memories.

It is a time in his life he is keen to forget. “I felt I was falling into a really dark place,” he says. One of the things he struggles most with is that he was not able to defend his son. “Parents defend their kids. I feel like I failed him. I feel like by not checking who it was through the spy hole because I was expecting a delivery, I was irresponsible because we live by the road and you just never know who's at the door.”

Elizabeth was so worried about Tapiwa, she persuaded him to get counselling. “He became very closed off, not just to me but for everything.”

She could see that the effects of the raid had been long lasting. “We live on a main road and there's sirens up and down all the time. Every time that a siren went off, you could see in his face he was terrified because he thought they were coming again.”



