A TRAGIC young mother who is suffering from terminal cancer has been told by the First Minister she can go on a final holiday with her family.
Linzi Page, 38, from Fife, was told today by Nicola Sturgeon she can fly with her two children to Tenerife next week despite a new travel ban being brought in tomorrow.
Under the new law it will be illegal for people living in level 3 and level 4 areas to travel out of their areas.
Her plight was raised in Holyrood today by Labour leader Richard Leonard who said the young mum had raised concerns with him after Constitutional Affairs Secretary Michael Russell said while it was legal to travel abroad, under the new travel ban it would be illegal for people in level 3 and level 4 areas to travel to the airport.
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The First Minister said Linzi, who has stage 4 cancer, would be able to go on the holiday with her seven-year-old son and four-year-old daughter under an exemption relating to compassion for people facing the end of their lives.
She said: "I wrote to Linzi this morning clarifying the situation, she wrote to me last night to outline her situation which is indeed tragic and my heart goes out to her as I'm sure the heart of each and every one of it does.
"She asked me for clarity about whether she can go on one final holiday with her family and I have written back to her today advising her that under the regulations anyone in a situation like her's can go on a final holiday."
She added: "Travel restrictions come with a general exemption where people have what is termed in law an reasonable excuse the regulations give a list of examples."
She continued that "there should be no doubt" that the young mother should absolutely be an exemption "as one of the explicit exemptions that was given was travel for compassionate reasons that relate to the end of a person's life".
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