More than 100 cross-party MPs have written to the government urging it to allow Palestinian students evacuated from Gaza to bring their children to the UK. The students have been offered fully funded scholarships at British universities but are barred from bringing dependants under current immigration rules.
Among those affected is Loay, a 26-year-old who postponed his evacuation from Gaza to study for an MSc at the University of Oxford because his wife and three-month-old daughter could not accompany him. He said: 'I couldn’t leave them behind in Gaza City, where life has become a daily nightmare.'
Fatin, a 31-year-old mother of two with a scholarship to study at the University of Sussex, said she faced the 'heartbreak' of deferring her evacuation twice. She said: 'What if I cannot leave with my boys yet again?'
The letter to ministers was signed by MPs and peers including former Conservative education secretary Kenneth Baker, Labour peer Alf Dubs, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Green MP Carla Denyer. Labour MP Abtisam Mohamed, who coordinated the letter, said: 'We cannot allow bureaucratic hurdles to stand in the way of compassion.'
Under the UK's scholar evacuation initiative, 58 students have been evacuated from Gaza, but only one child has been allowed to accompany them, after the then home secretary Yvette Cooper used ministerial discretion. Dr Nora Parr of the University of Birmingham said: 'These are not typical times. In order to continue their education, they will need ministerial discretion to be exercised.'
A government spokesperson said: 'We are actively supporting students in Gaza. We have already facilitated the departure of a number of students and expect further students to follow.'
