An immigrant who sexually assaulted a woman within two weeks of arriving in Britain is blocking attempts to deport him by claiming he is a Syrian refugee.

Abdulrahman Abunasir submitted a claim for asylum while serving an 18-month prison sentence for the sex attack.

But when immigration officials questioned him, they found he could not even answer ‘simple’ questions about Syria.

Abdulrahman Abunasir submitted an asylum claim while serving an 18-month jail-term for sexually assaulting a woman in London but is now blocking deportation attempts by claiming he is a Syrian refugee. However, when immigration officials questioned him, they found he could not answer 'simple questions' about Syria

Officials put the sex attacker through a language analysis test and concluded ‘there was a very high degree of certainty that he was from Egypt’.

But they have been unable to deport him because they cannot fully prove that he is Egyptian.

After serving half his sentence for the sexual assault Abunasir was moved to a secure immigration centre.

Probation officers said he should not be freed because there is a high risk that he may attack a member of the public again.

He has spent almost two years in the immigration centre, which has cost taxpayers around £80,000 so far.

Abunasir has taken his case to the High Court where he tried to sue the Government for being ‘unlawfully held’.

He is continuing to claim he is from Syria – a country which he cannot be deported back to because the ongoing civil war.

However, he had also allegedly claimed to be Palestinian when detained in France years earlier.

Lord Alex Carlile QC, the former anti-terrorism laws reviewer, said it is 'regrettable that a sex offender who has committed a serious offence cannot be removed' and that it was a 'high cost to the taxpayer'

Judges threw out his claim for compensation in July but have warned officials they cannot hold him indefinitely.

It means Abunasir could soon be free to walk the streets again despite his offences being branded ‘serious and frightening’ by courts.

Abunasir attacked the woman outside a cafe in London in April 2013 as she walked to her boyfriend’s home.

He became aggressive and started to manhandle her before sexually assaulting her.

His victim was ‘petrified she was going to be raped’ before she escaped from the late-night assault.

During the High Court hearing, Judge Clive Heaton said: ‘This was clearly a very serious and frightening sexual offence, committed against a young woman, while she was on her own in the street, by a man unknown to her and who had been in the country in all probability less than a fortnight.

‘In my judgment the risk of reoffending cannot be said to be low. He has shown little respect for the law here by his criminal offending, unlawful entry to the UK, failure to present himself as an asylum seeker, and obstruction of his lawful removal.’

Last night critics slammed the continuing failure to deport Abunasir.

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Taxpayers will be incensed if foreign criminals are using the desperate refugee crisis to try and avoid deportation.

‘On the whole, the system for removing offenders must be dramatically improved. It’s not right that British taxpayers are picking up the tab for foreign criminals to stay here.’

Lord Alex Carlile QC, the former anti-terrorism laws reviewer, said: ‘It’s regrettable that a sex offender who has committed a very serious offence cannot be removed. As long as this case continues, there is a high cost to the taxpayer.’