EXCLUSIVE

BY STEPHEN STEWART A SCOTS gran has been told by Home Office chiefs to prove she has a right to stay in the UK – after living here for nearly 60 years.

Tina Crolla Stewart – who came to Scotland in 1960 – is one of hundreds of elderly Italian Scots facing appalling treatment by the UK Government in a crisis with chilling echoes of the Windrush scandal.

The Home Office was blasted after the crisis saw Caribbeanborn British citizens wrongly classified as illegal immigrants. Some were taken to detention centres and dozens deported.

Now Tina and other elderly and infirm Scots with Italian heritage have to navigate Brexit red tape to prove they should stay and not be sent to Italy.

Tina said: “Thank you, Brexiteers. After living in Scotland for 59 years, I have to apply for permanent residence.

“I think 59 years constitutes permanent residence. It’s not as if I thought I would try it for a lifetime to see if I liked it.

“I have worked and paid taxes all my adult life and now I need permission to stay. Absurd.”

Tina moved to Glasgow from Picinisco, near Rome. She worked as a legal secretary, raising two children.

Italian immigrants have been arriving in Scotland since the late 19th century. Tens of thousands of their descendants are now dotted across Scotland

PROUD HERITAGE Tom Conti, Sharleen Spiteri, Paolo Nutini, Daniela Nardini and Ronni Ancona are just some of the famous Scots who can trace their family trees back to Italy

WORRIED Tina is fearful that she won’t be permitted to stay here