Fiona Hyslop raises fresh hope for X-Factor's Gamu

SCOTS X Factor contestant Gamu Nhengu, who is facing deportation after her mother's visa ran out in August, was last night given fresh hope of staying in the country after it emerged that Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Minister for Culture and External Affairs, had written to Home Secretary, Theresa May, asking her to take a personal interest in the issue.

It has also been revealed that X Factor supremo Simon Cowell, whose fellow judge Cheryl Cole eliminated Nhengu on last week's show, has pledged to help the family fight the decision and has put his legal team at the family's disposal.

Nhengu, her two younger brothers and her mother, Nokuthula Ngazana, who are originally from Zimbabwe, have lived in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, for eight years, but Ngazana, who works as a nurse, had her application to remain in the country turned down following allegations she wrongly claimed working tax credits.

Cowell said: "We are helping Gamu and her family as much as possible and have lawyers working with her lawyers. It's not because we have to but because I really feel for their situation, and that's outside of the show."

In her letter, Hyslop described Nhengu as "a hugely talented singer, and potentially a great asset to Scotland's cultural community", and said that she strongly urged May "to take a personal interest in the family's circumstances, to ensure that all relevant factors are properly and fully considered, so that any options which would allow them to stay in Scotland are fully explored".

Hundreds of locals from across Clackmannanshire arrived in Tillicoultry last Wednesday to protest at Nhengu's deportation, and around 250,000 have joined a Facebook group to protest the decision by Cole to eliminate her from the programme.

A petition to keep the family in the country has gathered more than 5,000 signatures.