A GROUP of orphans evacuated from Ukraine with the help of a Hibs supporters charity have been given permission to come to Scotland.
The children were being supported by Dnipro Kids, a charity set up by a Hibs fan after the team played a match in Dnipro in 2005.
Charity workers were helping to evacuate the young people from Ukraine when the war against Russia began, and successfully brought them to safety in Poland.
They had been trying to give them temporary sanctuary in Scotland, but had faced bureaucratic delays.
This evening, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the Ukrainian government had now given permission for the children to leave Poland and the SNP said they will hopefully arrive in Scotland on Monday.
Ms Patel said: “It is deeply troubling that children from the charity Dnipro Kids have been caught up in Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. I have been working directly with the Ukrainian government and asked for their permission to bring these children to the UK.
"I am extremely grateful to the authorities in Ukraine, who have now confirmed to me that the children can come here.
“We are working urgently with Poland to ensure the children’s swift arrival to the UK.”
The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford raised the group's plight at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, and called for deputy PM Dominic Raab to remove the "obstacles" to their travel.
On confirmation that they will be able to travel today, he said: "I'm absolutely delighted that we've managed to achieve this breakthrough and that, all things being well, Scotland will welcome 48 Ukrainian children and their guardians to safety on Monday.
"While this process has been more difficult than it needed to be, all that matters now is that these children will be in a place of safety and I am pleased beyond words."
He paid tribute to the Dnipro Kids chairty, as well as officials in the Ukrainian, Polish and Scottish Governments as well as Edinburgh City Council and the Home Office, adding: "Not all children will be in the position of having guardians and adults to support them, and the Home Office must ensure there are safe, smooth and quick ways for them to access visas and reach safety.
"It’s far from clear to me how that can happen under the present system."
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