Singer misses Scottish gigs after being treated 'like a terrorist'

Published on Monday 1 June 2009 22:06

IMMIGRATION officers treated a Canadian singer "like a terrorist" because she did not have the correct paperwork to come and perform in Edinburgh, it has been claimed.

Allison Crowe, an up-and-coming roots and soul singer, who has performed several times in the UK, was detained at Gatwick for 11 hours, questioned, fingerprinted and then deported because she did not have a Certificate of Sponsorship when she arrived with her band last month.

The incident has been raised in the Scottish Parliament by Nationalist MSP Rob Gibson with a motion that has gained cross-party support.

With major festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe reliant on overseas talent, there are fears that the bureaucracy and heavy-handed tactics by immigration officials will scare off performers.

Ms Crowe and her bandmates were then informed that they might never be able to perform in Europe again and had their passports stamped "barred from entry".

However, they then moved on to Germany where they were welcomed into the country.

"At a time when we should be encouraging artists, musicians and tourists from around the world to visit Scotland, this kind of welcome from UK immigration is most unhelpful," said Mr Gibson.

"In the year of Homecoming we want to welcome people to Scotland, not drive them away at the airport.

"We are a welcoming nation – but the UK is treating legitimate visitors like terrorists or prisoners. A few inquiries by the Borders Agency would have shown Allison Crowe was visiting Scotland to play a series of concerts – instead she has been locked up, barred from the UK and then sent back home again."

John Thurso, the Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, added: "The rule itself is an affront to the great British tradition of welcoming overseas artists and another example of this government's unyielding zeal for mindless regulation.

"Security is important, but throwing international performers into a lock-up and being rude to them should be no part of it."

A spokesman for the Home Office said that the new rules had been introduced in November to protect Britain and tighten security at borders.

He claimed that they were well advertised and promoters of arts events should have been aware of them.

"We have to check that people are coming into the country for legitimate reasons and to do what they say they are going to do," he said.

The Canadian singer is not the only artist to be caught out by the new rules. Russian pianist Grigory Sokolov cancelled a recent tour of Britain because of the requirement.

A furious Ms Crowe has posted a petition on her website calling on people to oppose the measure.

Her manager, Adrian du Plessis, warned that the rules would put off independent artists.

"It's no problem for the big mainstream acts, but it prevents independent musicians from playing smaller gigs," he said.