Tonight I was in Glasgow City Centre at a vigil for Florence and Precious Mhango. The family, originally from Malawi, have lived in the UK for the last 7 years. It was a very emotional event with some fantastic speeches from friends of the Mhangos. We heard how the UK Border Agency (UKBA) have intimidated a wheelchair dependant friend of Florence and Precious. All I can say is, shame on UKBA.
As a Conservative, of course I believe in strict border controls and think that Labour's almost, open door policy has been terrible for this country. However, I do believe that in this particular case, an exception should be made. I think the UKBA should have a certain time scale in which they deal with each case. Although I'm sure such a scale does exist, it clearly hasn't been implemented in the case of the Mhangos. They have lived in the United Kingdom for the last 7 years, not knowing whether they would be allowed to stay in the UK or not.This in my opinion is too long. The UKBA have a responsibility to put people out of the suspense of not knowing whether they will be allowed to remain in the UK, or if they'll be returned to their country of origin.
I will be writing to the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to express my concerns surrounding this case. If the people of Glasgow have anything to do with it, the Mhangos wouldn't be going anywhere!
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