Iconic Appearance for Anwar

NEWS 11
FRIDAY JULY 10, 2015
Grandmother
is saved from
deportation
Call for
training to
support
women
with FGM
Iconic appearance for Anwar
U-turn by Home Office as UK citizenship confirmed
KATHERINE SUTHERLAND
HOME Office officials have finally
accepted that a woman who has
lived in Scotland for 30 years, has a
Scottish mother and is married to a
Scot is British.
Crystal MacIver had been threatened with deportation by the UK
government following a paperwork
bungle 28 years ago.
But the delighted 44-year-old has
revealed she has now finally been
confirmed as a citizen of the UK.
Despite that, Ms MacIver, who
has a National Insurance number
and three grown-up children living
and working in Scotland, will still
have to go through a citizenship
ceremony.
She said: “I’m over the moon. I
feel like I’ve won the lottery.
“I got the letter and it’s the first
time I’ve been able to sleep in
weeks.
“I’m going out on Friday night
with my family to celebrate. I want
to thank everyone who signed my
petition, and my MSP Patricia
Gibson.
“I have no doubt that if it wasn’t
for all the publicity, I would have
been kicked out.”
Ms MacIver sent several years of
tax returns, along with other
documentation proving her parentage, in support of her case to stay in
the UK.
FAMILY: Crystal MacIver and
grandson Christopher James.
She was born in Gloucester,
Massachusetts but came to live in
Ayrshire when her Scottish mother
came home after getting divorced.
In the 29 years she has lived in
Scotland, she had several jobs,
married her first husband, had two
children, remarried, and had her
third child.
She now looks after her grandson Christopher James, 18 months,
while her daughter and son-in-law
work.
It appears Ms MacIver’s mother
did not apply for a British passport
when they arrived in the UK and
she has simply renewed her US
passport ever since.
She faced deportation after
deciding in 2011 to get a UK
passport.
Ms MacIver, from Stevenston,
Ayrshire, first had to prove that her
mother was British. Having done
that, officials demanded evidence
of her right to stay in the country in
the form of an immigration
document.
But Ms MacIver said it was
impossible as she arrived in the
country as a 14-year-old girl and has
no idea whether any such document ever existed.
She was forced to consult a
lawyer after being told to produce
the documents by June 8 or her bid
to stay in the UK would be refused,
resulting in deportation.
Ms MacIver, whose husband
Graham works offshore as a pipe
fitter, said at the time: “Not in my
wildest dreams did I think this was
going to happen.
“I’m more Scottish than I am
American. I just can’t believe it.
“I’m in shock. I’ve got no-one in
the States. My dad’s dead, I have
nowhere to go to.”
Yesterday a Home Office spokesman said: “All applications for
British citizenship are considered
on their individual merits and in
line with the immigration rules.
It is up to the individual applying
for citizenship to provide the
required evidence to support their
application.
“Ms MacIver has now provided
the necessary documentation and
her claim for citizenship has been
granted.”
LAWYER Aamer Anwar was
outnumbered by three drag
queens at the launch of the
Scottish Icon Awards which will
celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender community.
The inaugural Icon Awards
2015 will take place in October,
with categories recognising the
Politician, Employer and Sporting
Icon of the Year.
The launch was held at the
Light club in Glasgow’s Royal
Exchange Square.
The public can vote for
nominees via the dedicated
website www.icon-awards.co.uk.
Picture: Robert Perry
Suspended police chief found guilty of eight misconduct charges at private hearing
A POLICE chief who was
suspended for a year after
allegations he made “inappropriate advances” to female
colleagues has been found
guilty of eight counts of
misconduct.
Nick Gargan, the chief
constable of Avon and Somerset Police, was suspended
from his role on full pay in
May last year, pending the
outcome of a misconduct
hearing. The private hearing
into the allegations – as well
as claims Mr Gargan leaked
internal emails – began at a
private location last Monday.
Mr Gargan faced 10
charges of gross misconduct
and three charges of miscon-
duct. Yesterday he was found
guilty of eight charges at a
level of misconduct.
Chair woman Dor ian
Lovell-Pank, QC, will now
write a report of the panel’s
findings and recommend any
Selfridges
scraps plastic
water bottles
Campaigners call to save
country from extremism
SELFRIDGES is to rid its
stores of all single-use plastic water bottles as part of
a campaign to reduce
pollution of the oceans.
Instead, the store is
encouraging customers to
bring their own water
bottles to fill at a newly
opened drinking fountain
in its London food hall.
The initiative, part of an
ongoing partnership with
the Zoological Society of
London (ZSL) and the
Marine Reserves Coalition
(MRC), aims to reduce
plastic waste.
ZSL director of conserv at ion pr o g r a m me s ,
Professor Jonathan Baillie,
said: “The staggering
volume of plastic entering
our oceans every year is
having a devastating effect
on our marine wildlife.
The Natural Hydration
Council, which represents
bottled water companies,
said: “Bottled water has
the lowest environmental
impact of all soft drinks.
“The focus should be on
encouraging the recycling
of bottles, rather than
limiting consumer choice.”
COMMUNITY groups
from across the UK and
grieving families of British
aid workers beheaded by
Islamic State terrorists
have backed a campaign
calling on the nation to
reclaim the country from
the clutches of extremism.
Victims David Haines
and Alan Henning were
murdered on camera by IS
r adicals after being
captured in 2013.
Their families have now
given support to the Fightback Starts Here campaign
which has been launched
in central London with the
backing of more than 100
charities, inter-faith organisations and community
leaders.
Mr Haines’s brother
Mike and Mr Henning’s
widow Barbara are among
those signing an open
letter calling on a united
effort to “reject the lies
that extremists spread”.
They were not at the
campaign launch but
those who were stood
with placards that said
#fightbackstartshere.
Suleman Nagdi, repre-
DAVID HAINES: Captured
by Islamic State in 2013.
senting the Federation of
Muslim Organisations,
which is co-ordinating the
nationwide initiative, said:
“For 30 years I have
wo r ke d w i t h o t h e r
communities and faiths
to promote harmony
and fight against all
extremists.
“Those who sow hate
and prey on young people
to encourage them to
harm themselves, their
families and the fabric of
the communities in which
they live must be stopped.
Recent events have been a
wake-up call.
“It is great to see like
m i nde d p e ople a nd
community groups from
all over the UK join this
new movement a nd
commit to win this battle.
The fightback has to start
right here and right now –
everyone has to step up to
the challenge. The fightback starts here.”
Mike Haines previously
said: “Radicalisation and
extremism is the biggest
challenge facing our
communities in the UK.
“I have travelled across
the country in recent
months, as part of my
journey following the
murder of my brother
David by IS, and I have
seen the sheer determination of communities to
come together in the face
of this serious threat.
“We cannot allow
terrorist gangs to polarise
our communities, we must
stand united, pool our
resources and expertise
in tackling radicalisation
and ex tremism, and
send a clear message to
those who wish to cause us
harm that they will not
defeat us.”
Union blasts Ofcom Low-calorie panda
over parcel service diet keeps them cool
THE UK’s parcels market
has become like the “wild
west”, with bogus selfemployment and illegal
wages, a union leader has
claimed.
Dave Ward, general
secretary of the Communication Workers Union
(CWU), said everyone had
a story about parcel deliveries that did not arrive, or
packages thrown over
fences or left in bins.
He told a rally of
hundreds of postal workers it was a “damning
indictment” of regulator
O f c om t h at i t h a d
“ignored” the problems.
The union launched a
fresh campaign to defend
postal workers’ pay, conditions and daily deliveries.
“The CWU is making it
clear to the Government
and the regulator that
whether Royal Mail is in
public or private hands we
are not going away and we
will not remain silent as
the postal service and
postal workers’ conditions
are eroded,” he said.
“The postal service
exists to serve the interests
of the public and businesses, which rely on it.
Neither privatisation nor a
failed regulatory model
have been driven by this.
“When the body in
charge of protecting an
industry thinks its role is
driving down terms and
conditions of postal workers on £21,000, or promoting competition at the
expense of services, something has gone wrong.”
PANDAS are really cool –
burning up exceptionally
few calories in order to
survive on their meagre
bamboo diet, scientists
have learned.
A 14 - st one p a nda
expends less than half the
energy of a human of the
same weight, research
shows. T he panda’s
energy-saving metabolism
allows it to live on a diet
consisting almost entirely
of low-calorie bamboo.
Just to survive, one of
t he a n i ma l s ha s t o
consume up to 50lb of
bamboo each day.
A study using GPS
loggers found pandas rest
for more than half a day
and, on average, only
travel 20 metres an hour.
However, a big problem
with having such a low
metabolic rate is keeping
warm, the researchers
pointed out, adding that a
panda’s thick fur is needed
to trap their body heat.
Professor John Speakman, from the University
of Aberdeen and Chinese
Academy of Sciences, who
led the study, said it is not
only their low activity that
contributes to their low
metabolism. “The metabolic rate of an active
panda is still lower than a
completely stationary
human,” he said. “We
found that their low
metabolism is correlated
with very low levels of
their thyroid hormones.”
The finding s are
reported in the journal
Science.
COMMENT AT HERALDSCOTLAND.COM
sanctions Mr Gargan should
face under police regulations.
Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens
will hold a sanction hearing
with Mr Gargan after receiving the panel’s report.
Mr Gargan’s suspension
has now been lifted and a
phased return to work is
being prepared for after the
sanction hearing.
Ms Mountstevens previously found Mr Gargan had a
case to answer for gross
misconduct. An initial investigation by the Independent
Police Complaints Commission determined that Mr
Gargan should not face criminal charges.
MIDWIVES, obstetricians
and gynaecologists should
receive mandatory training
about female genital mutilation (FGM), according to new
guidelines on treating pregnant women who have undergone the procedure.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
(Rcog) said pregnancy
presents an ideal opportunity
for healthcare professionals
to identify women with FGM
and it may be the first time
they have ever sought medical
services.
Women who have had the
procedure, which is illegal in
the UK, are more likely to
suffer problems in childbirth.
Rc o g h a s publ i s he d
updated guidelines aimed at
midwives, obstetricians and
gynaecologists, which say
they should also receive
mandatory training on deinfibulation, the surgical procedure to open up the closed
vagina.
Clinicians who deal with
expectant mothers who have
undergone the procedure
should also carry out an
assessment of the risk of the
unborn child, or any other
children the women may
h ave , h av i ng i t done
themselves.
Lead author Dr Naomi
Low-Beer said: “FGM is a
violation of human rights and
a form of child abuse.
“Thousands of vulnerable
women in the UK are living
with the long-term physical
and psychological consequences of FGM, and these
women must receive high
quality care.”
In England, Wales and
Northern Ireland, it is illegal
to arrange or assist in arranging for a UK national or UK
resident to be taken overseas
for FGM, while it is also an
offence for those with parental responsibility to fail to
protect a girl from the risk.