An Afghan family illegally deported by Home Secretary David Blunkett have lost their battle to return to Britain for their appeal.

But the High Court ruled on Thursday that the Ahmadi family would have their case heard via a special video link from Germany, paid for by the government.

Farid Ahmadi, 33, his wife Feriba, 25, and their two young children, aged five and three, were last month flown to Munich where they had first claimed asylum.

Earlier this week, the High Court ruled that Mr Blunkett had acted unlawfully when he had the family deported before hearing evidence on the mental health of Mrs Ahmadi.

Mental state

On Thursday, Mr Justice Scott Baker said that while it was right to rule the home secretary's unlawful action, it did not necessarily mean the family should be returned to the UK for their appeal.

He accepted a package of proposals put forward by the Home Office which includes sending doctors to Germany to assess Mrs Ahmadi and her children.

The Home Office will also pay for the family's lawyers and translators to stay with them for the appeal, expected to take place within a month.

The secretary of state is trying to take advantage of his own illegality by perpetuating an injustice David Pannick QC

The deportation of the Ahmadis on a specially-chartered plane cost the Home Office an estimated �30,000.

David Pannick QC, for the family, said the Ahmadis and their supporters had taken into account Mrs Ahmadi's health, but believed returning for the appeal would have been in her best legal interests.

"The secretary of state is trying to take advantage of his own illegality by perpetuating an injustice," Mr Pannick told the hearing.

"It is not for the secretary of state to seek to perform a paternalistic role at this stage of the proceedings."

Elane Heffernan, campaigner for the family, spoke to them immediately after the ruling.

She said they were distressed and could not understand why they had not received justice.

"The High Court has ruled that the home secretary broke the law but has chosen not to return them to the UK.

"This will make it very difficult [at the appeal] for Farid and Feriba to explain why their condition is so bad in Germany."

Pierre Maklouf, legal adviser to the family, said Mr Blunkett should have held up his hands and admitted he had been wrong.

"The secretary of state has been shown to have acted illegally.

"But it is clear that the family are to an extent disadvantaged [by the video link decision]. If the appeal was in the UK, things would be much easier."

Wider implications

Mr Justice Baker gave the home secretary permission to appeal because of its wider implications for the asylum process.

On Wednesday, the judge said Mr Blunkett had acted unlawfully in ruling that the family had "no arguable case" and their challenge to his decision was "manifestly unfounded".

Asylum and immigration experts say the ruling may have a major impact on Mr Blunkett's plans to change the rights to appeal currently offered to asylum seekers.

The raid on the mosque was widely condemned

Mr Blunkett's Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill, currently before Parliament, proposes to allow the deportation of failed asylum seekers before their appeals are heard - but allowing them that right from the country they are sent to.

The Ahmadi family entered the UK in June 2001 after first arriving in Germany. They said that they had settled far better in the UK than in Germany, where they claim they faced racism.

The police eventually arrested the family by breaking into a mosque where they were hiding in Lye, the West Midlands. The incident prompted an outcry from Muslims who attacked the government for its treatment of a place of worship.