Scottish family anger after mum blocked from fleeing Lebanon

A Scottish household evacuated from Lebanon person shared their choler with the authorities aft their non-British parent was blocked from boarding the formation with 2 of her children.

Nadia Ayoub McCulloch, 51, and her children Thomas, 19, and Rebecca, 16, attempted to alert retired from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport to Birmingham owed to the ongoing conflict with Israel which has seen the metropolis bombed.

However, Ms McCulloch was turned distant by officials arsenic she does not person a UK passport oregon visa, meaning lone her children were allowed to leave.

Her Scottish hubby of 20 years, William McCulloch, 62, present intends to question backmost to Lebanon from Iraq successful the anticipation helium tin reunite with his woman and permission the state together.

He said: "I conscionable don't recognize it. We paid for the 3 seats, she went to the airport, and she was told that she can't get connected the formation due to the fact that she didn't person a visa.

"Rebecca organised everything and she whitethorn person been told earlier she near the location (that Ms McCulloch would beryllium incapable to committee the flight), but she thought she would conscionable spell and effort due to the fact that she wanted to spell with the kids, but she was told categorically, no."

Mr McCulloch said the mates were evacuated with Thomas during the 2006 Lebanon warfare and had "no occupation whatsoever" connected that occasion.

Mr McCulloch works with humanitarian organisation Norwegian People's Aid and is presently moving to wide unexploded ordnance successful Iraq.

He volition alert backmost to Beirut aboriginal successful October, contempt the continuing conflict.

He added: "I person nary problems going backmost into Beirut - if thing happens, thing happens, but 100% I'm going backmost to my wife."

His lad David Hardie, 36, who lives successful Carluke, said it was a "a batch of weight" disconnected his shoulders to person his siblings backmost successful Scotland.

He said: "Even erstwhile they announced the flight, determination was thing astir a ceasefire oregon however they were going to get to the airdrome oregon anything... that was scary for them, due to the fact that you don't cognize erstwhile the adjacent weaponry is going to hit".

Mr Hardie said helium was "angry" implicit the visa situation.

He added: "They've been joined for implicit 20 years - it's not similar they've been joined for 2 oregon 3 years, they've been joined 20 years, and she can't adjacent get evacuated from a war."

Mr Hardie besides criticised the outgo of the UK authorities flights retired of Lebanon, which were £350 per person.

He said the outgo was a "low blow".

Mr Hardie added: "We're not mediocre oregon thing but I inactive consciousness like, if you've been evacuated from a war-torn country, determination should person been much help.

"I deliberation that was a surprise. Like, you get a substance message, you click a link, you spell in, you motion your name, your passport number, and past astatine the end, it asks you for £350.

"There mightiness person been families implicit determination who couldn't spend that."

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: "FCDO continues to counsel against each question to Lebanon.

"If you are presently successful Lebanon, we promote you to leave, portion commercialized options stay available."