THE UK Government is “trying to divide people”, a Scottish MP told protestors yesterday.
Alison Thewliss was addressing a demonstration by highly-skilled migrants affected by controversial Home Office rule 322.5, which has seen architects, accountants, IT experts and more threatened with deportation over corrections to tax returns.
READ MORE: Skilled migrants treated as terror risks win Home Office case
This includes the cases of Glasgow men Mustafa Ali Baig and Omer Khitab, who won their legal battles with the Home Office after The National revealed their stories.
Some, including a pregnant woman in East Renfrewshire, were denied access to the NHS, while others lost the right to work.
An official review has yet to report and many of those affected – who are mostly drawn from Commonwealth countries – are still battling to retain permission to live and work in the UK.
At the London protest yesterday – the sixth of its kind to take place outside the Houses of Parliament – the SNP’s Thewliss told participants: “There is lots of talk just now about Brexit, there is lots of talk just now about EU citizens.
“What I am fearful for is this Government is trying to divide people. This Government is trying to say that some people should have some rights and some people should have other rights. I want everybody to be treated fairly.”
The Glasgow Central MP stated: “I can’t believe you have had to protest six times now.
“It’s an absolute disgrace that the Home Office have not yet finished the review that they promised.”
She went on: “Thank you for your contribution to this country, for coming here, for choosing to live here and make your lives here. I want to say thank you for that because I don’t think it gets said enough.”
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