Deport order for Algerian asylum-seeker

She told them: "This man has the necessary paperwork to prove his Jewish status which fulfils the criteria set by the Israeli government, and it would be appalling if he is deported to an Arab country where there is no opportunity for him to have a fulfilled Jewish life."

Rafi Nassi, UK head of the Jewish Agency, said: "We are still checking his Jewish background. He says he was Jewish in Algeria and we are looking to get some proof for that."

An immigration judge previously found that there was no evidence to suggest practising Jews in Algeria.

But Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies, said this week that it hoped to supply information on the "parlous state" of Jews in Algeria.