Euro-MP supports fight against deportation of Chilean Scot

5.35.23pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 31st Aug 2006

London's Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has welcomed the granting of an appeal against deportation for Ernesto Leal, who grew up in Scotland after escaping repression in Chile under Pinochet's brutal regime of the 1970s.

The government sought to deport him as a foreign criminal, but Leal came to the UK as a child and his family was granted legal residence 30 years ago. He has no friends or family in Chile and barely speaks Spanish.

Ernesto was involved in a pub brawl two years ago which led to him serving an 18 month sentence in an open prison, after which he adhered properly to the terms of his probation. He had never been in trouble prior to this incident, and has not been in trouble since. However, on May 1st he was arrested and imprisoned as part of the Home Office's round up of foreign criminals - a week prior to local elections.

Sarah Ludford said:

"Ernesto has already paid the price to society for his offence. He does not pose an ongoing threat and deserves to stay a member of the British community. He is clearly a victim of a hysterical overreaction by the Blair government in an attempt to cover up the shambolic state of the Home Office."

"I'm delighted the court has sensibly decided there is no reason he should be deported to a country with which he has almost no connection. His case recalls that of Sakchai Makao, the young man in Shetland who also won his case after massive support from the local community, including LibDem MP Alistair Carmichael.

"John Reid should concentrate on finding serious organised criminals like drug and people-traffickers instead of scooping up in an indiscriminate way any legal resident who made a mistake and served his time. But that would be too much like hard work for Labour's headline-seeking spin machine."

Note: for further information see http://www.friendsofernesto.org.uk/