A SCOTTISH MP has said there could be a decision early next week on whether or not an Australian family battling to stay in Scotland will be allowed to remain.

Ian Blackford was speaking after meeting the immigration minister James Brokenshire, and following a high-profile meeting between Gregg, Kathryn and Lachlan Brain and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

MPs from across the Commons had voiced their concern that the family could be deported within days, after Blackford raised the matter in an urgent question.

Speaking after he met Brokenshire, Blackford, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, told The National: “The Minister said in the House that he would listen to my concerns and he did – it was a useful meeting.

“He made no promises, except to say he expected to have a decision early next week.”

Speaking after meeting the family, Sturgeon said they had come to Scotland in good faith as part of a government-backed visa programme, for which support had now been withdrawn. “It is absolutely outrageous that they now risk losing their home, careers, friends and family here because the UK Government has now withdrawn its backing for that scheme,” she said.

“Worse still, their son [Lachlan, 7, pictured left with Sturgeon], who has embraced the Gaelic language, now faces being taken from the community he has grown up in, and from his school, despite the fact he is Scottish in all but birth.

“I wrote to Theresa May when I first heard about their story and I am still waiting for a response. I will now write to her again – the Brains need more time to work on their application and secure the jobs they want so they can continue to be contributing members of Scottish society.

“The Home Office must look again at their approach to migration to ensure it best meets the specific needs of Scotland. This case is the perfect example of why. The UK Government must act and must act now.”

Earlier, in the Commons, Brokenshire said seven-year-old Lachlan – whose first language is Gaelic – and his parents faced “no imminent threat of deportation”, as he tried to offer MPs reassurances over the family’s plight. He said he had twice extended their stay to allow them time to secure the necessary permission to remain in the country.

He added: “We’ve not yet received an application from the Brain family for leave to remain under the points-based system but we will consider any application they make.

“I’m meeting (Blackford) again this afternoon to further discuss this matter, but he can be assured that the family does not face an imminent risk of immediate deportation.”

Blackford said Kathryn had been offered a job at the new GlenWyvis Distillery in Dingwall and urged Brokenshire to “do the right thing” by giving them time to meet the visa requirements. He also criticised Home Secretary Theresa May’s absence from the Commons as he explained how the family came to Scotland under a scheme put in place by Holyrood’s previous Labour administration that was backed by the Home Office.

Blackford said: “What has happened in this case is that the government has taken retrospective action to deny the rights that this family would have been granted under that legislation. There’s a breach of trust and a breach of faith as far as this government is concerned.”

Tory MP Philip Davies said: “There’s nobody more passionate about having a robust immigration policy than me. But I just wonder whether or not the minister would agree that this may be a case where the government is being overly harsh on people from outside of the European Union as a direct consequence of having free movement of people from within the European Union.”

SNP home affairs spokeswoman Joanna Cherry said the government should introduce a “sensible” immigration policy to enable Scotland to attract and keep talented people from overseas.

The minister repeated that he will “continue to listen to the representations that are made” but “ultimately the family need to find employment at the appropriate level”.


Sturgeon: ‘I wish Scotland had the power to put in place a sensible, human system’

Nicola Sturgeon has promised to do all she can to help the Australian family at the centre of a deportation battle. Gregg, Kathryn and Lachlan Brain met the First Minister in her office at Holyrood yesterday. Our reporter Greg Russell was given exclusive access to the meeting.


THERE was no trace of nerves as the Brain family made their way into the First Minister’s office, except that seven-year-old Lachlan was a bit on the quiet side – understandable perhaps, given that he had been on the go with his parents since early yesterday morning.

The meeting came after the immigration minister had assured the family’s MP Ian Blackford that there was no imminent threat of deportation. “So what that means is that the important thing now is for us to try to help you get absolute clarity,” said Sturgeon.

However, clarity is something that might be in short supply at the Home Office where the paperwork for some applications total over 100 pages.

Gregg said all they wanted was for the Home Office to keep their side of the deal and give them a post study work visa, adding that the ultimate tier two visa presented more of a trial.

“For a tier two visa you’ve got to convince an employer not only that I’m worth hiring, but that I’m worth what is effectively a £4,000 signing bonus for immigration lawyers and fees and things.”

Sturgeon said the scheme that brought them to Scotland had been agreed by the UK Government, and they had every right to expect the anticipated visa. She said: “It’s absolutely outrageous that you’ve had that taken away from you, when you would have had the opportunity at a much more leisurely pace to find jobs and persuade employers that you were the people they wanted. The system is flawed in so many different ways – I really wish we had the power to put in place a sensible, human system.

“In the meantime I think we should be optimistic that the pressure that’s now being applied will at least give you the time to then try to turn job offers into real opportunities.”

Sturgeon also criticised the retrospective nature of the change in the rules, which has led to the family’s plight. “When Parliament passes a law they’re generally not meant to have a retrospective effect on people,” she told them.

She added: “I’ve already written to the Home Secretary but we will follow that up just to say that this is the position, you’re within touching distance of a job that would satisfy the requirements and you need enough time to get a proper chance to sort this out.

“We’ll do everything we can to push it for you.”

The meeting was not without lighter – or emotional – moments.

Kathryn had to fight back tears as she spoke of the kindness of friends who had set up a crowdfunding initiative to help with their legal costs. Gregg told of one man who had offered to pay the employer’s sponsorship costs of £4,000.

And both parents were visibly proud of their son, who took to Gaelic from his earliest days at nursery. Gaelic is now Lachlan’s first language, and the First Minister couldn’t resist testing him: “Can you teach me some Gaelic?”After some prompting from his parents, he leaned forward and said confidently: “Tha gaol agam h-Alba,” which translates as: “I love Scotland.”


Letters I: Osborne's quip about the Brains was an ignorant taunt