A group of 52 migrants arrived at Heathrow Airport on Monday from refugee camps in Greece.
Three hours after the group boarded the flight in Athens for London, the group landed at Heathrow, where they were processed by Home Office officials before an emotional reunion with family members.
All of the migrants that entered the United Kingdom on this flight have been waiting for months to be reunited with the relative who are already in the UK.
The Home Office laid on the flight, in collaboration with the Greek government, after lobbying from Labour peer Lord Dubs and the Safe Passage International charity.
Lord Dubs said last night: “The conditions were awful. This is justice.”
Ruth Holtom, of Safe Passage, said: “There’s just a real sense of relief it’s finally happened. One of them told me how emotional it was to be reunited with their brother and it’s just a joy for them to be finally reunited with their loved ones after waiting so long.”
Most of the ‘vulnerable group’, who are not all minors, were from Syria and Afghanistan and had fled war and persecution.
They have been transferred to the UK under the Dublin III Regulation, which allows for migrant children to be relocated to countries where they have relatives. UNN has covered the Dublin III regulation vigorously.
A Home Office spokesman said: “The UK has a long and proud tradition of providing help and support to the vulnerable, and now more than ever it is important we honour that.
“We have worked with Greece to complete these transfers of vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children. They can now be united with family members in the UK.
“All of those people transferred tested negative for coronavirus before departing Greece.”
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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