Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is to be allowed to enter Britain, despite his conviction for rape, after an intervention by the British Home Secretary, Jack Straw, last night. After two days of insisting that the boxer's case could only be considered by the immigration service and was not a matter for the government, Straw said it would be "invidious" to leave the decision to an immigration officer and that he was using his discretionary powers to allow Tyson into the country.

The ruling means Tyson will arrive in London on Sunday for a fight against Britain's Julius Francis in Manchester on January 29th. It will be Tyson's first fight outside America.

Straw said he had been swayed by the potential economic damage involved in cancelling the sell-out fight and the fact that thousands of members of the public who had bought tickets would have been disappointed.

The bout had been in doubt because of immigration rules which state that entry into Britain should be refused to anyone who has committed a crime that would carry a 12-month jail term or more in Britain. Entry could only be justified on compassionate grounds.

Tyson was sentenced to six years in 1992 for rape and last year was jailed for 12 months after attacking two motorists.

Initially the government insisted that the compassionate grounds would be considered by an immigration official when the American arrived at Heathrow.

Straw said: "In the special circumstances of this case, it would be invidious for an individual immigration officer to weigh the competing considerations involved.

"I have looked very carefully at the representations that have been submitted to the immigration service by (the promoter) Frank Warren and I consider there are exceptional circumstances that justify my decision."

Warren had submitted a 67page document to the home office outlining the reasons why Tyson should be admitted to Britain.

"I'm pleased that he has now gained entry," Warren said last night. "I have been proved right and have always acted correctly. I said at the start of this affair that this has been about people trying to get political gain from it."

Straw said he was not satisfied that the rule preventing people with convictions from entering Britain, which has been in place since the early 1970s, had been consistently upheld. He conceded that people entering the country were not routinely asked about their convictions and ordered a review of the rule to be carried out.

Francis, Tyson's opponent, who has also spent time in prison, said: "People make mistakes, people change. I don't think that Mike Tyson should be punished every time he steps a foot sideways, frontways or backwards."

Francis will earn US$574,000 for the fight. His opponent will receive $8.2 million.