AN SNP MP has said she was “horrified” to learn that Scottish citizens attempting to escape from Gaza could be charged thousands of pounds to get back home.
In a video posted to social media, Hannah Bardell described how she intends to write to the Foreign Secretary after hearing from one her Palestinian constituents.
She said the woman’s 13 family members, who had managed to escape Gaza into Egypt, would now have to pay for their own flights home.
Bardell said: “So I spent part of this afternoon with one of my constituents who is Palestinian and who was seeking support from myself and my team to help get members of her family – 13 of them – over the Rafah crossing and out of Gaza and away from the bombing.
“We have managed to help her after the fifth attempt of them going to the border and even though their names were on the list, get them over into safety.
“There is obviously a horrific set of circumstances and I reiterate, as along with my colleagues, that there must be a ceasefire now.
“But for those who are having to flee we should be doing everything we can to support that and I have to say I was pretty horrified to find out that not only have each of them had to pay £35 for a Visa as they crossed that border, but they are also going to have to pay for their flights home.
“Now, given that this is an evacuation situation – and the same has happened, I know, when British citizens were evacuated from Tel Aviv – [it’s] just ridiculous.
This video was filmed yesterday- today I found out the @FCDOGovUK @JamesCleverly want to charge my constituents family £5,000 to escape and get home from war torn Gaza. What an outrage. I’ll be raising this again with them, it’s disgusting 😡 pic.twitter.com/lE7N0PcrAi
— Hannah Bardell SNP MP 🏴🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (@HannahB4LiviMP) November 8, 2023
“People should be being brought back to the UK and home free of charge because they are fleeing terrible, terrible circumstances.
“So, she was very distressed but relieved that her family members are now in Egypt.
“But I will be writing to the Foreign Secretary and asking him to please put these flights on for people without charge. Get people home.
“There are 13 of my constituent’s family members who are desperate to get back to their family and every time they went to the border they were risking their lives, bombs were going off all around them.
“And I have to say it was not particularly well organised, from what she had said.
“It continues to be an extraordinarily dire situation and we must do everything we can do to get people back as quickly as possible.”
After filming the video on Tuesday, Bardell said she has since found out that the family could face a bill of up to £5000.
“What an outrage,” she said. “I’ll be raising this again with them, it’s disgusting.”
It comes after First Minister Humza Yousaf’s parent-in-law managed to escape Gaza last week.
However, Yousaf said they were still in “significant distress” about their ordeal.
The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
