A Filipino man whose wife died after being given an epidural in the arm rather than the spine during childbirth has lost his fight to stay in the UK. Before Mayra Cabrera's death, Arnel Cabrera, 38, was permitted to stay in Swindon because she was a nurse. But Alex Rook, lawyer for Mr Cabrera, confirmed the Home Office had refused his application to stay. An inquest ruled Mrs Cabrera died unlawfully killed as a result of the actions of the hospital. The coroner also said the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust and the midwife who administered the injection was guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.

Mr Cabrera was said to be "too upset to speak" and was "devastated and shocked [at] this decision." Speaking of the Home Office ruling Mr Rook said: "This is an absolutely dreadful decision. "If Mayra hadn't been killed, the family would still be living here. "I will be writing to the relevant Home Office ministers asking them to reconsider their decision."

Mr Cabrera came to the UK in 2003 after his theatre nurse wife was recruited by the NHS to work at Great Western Hospital in Swindon. But on 11 May 2004, she died at the same hospital when the potent epidural anaesthetic Bupivacaine was mistakenly injected into her arm rather than her spinal cord, as she was giving birth to the couple's son Zachary.