Glasgow 2014 baton holder faces deportation

A student nurse who served in the Scottish Youth Parliament and carried the Queen's Commonwealth Games baton is facing deportation.

Former Paisley Grammar School pupil Denzel Darku carried the Queen's Commonwealth Games baton in 2014. Picture: Glasgow 2014

Denzel Darku, 23, moved to the UK from Ghana nine years ago but is fighting to stay in Scotland having seen two appeals rejected. The former Paisley Grammar School pupil said: “It has been upsetting because I have nothing in Ghana.”

A Home Office spokesman said every case is assessed “on its individual merits”. UK officials say Mr Darku has not been able to prove he is dependent on his father, who is a European citizen, since he is over 21. Mr Darku said he has been forced to drop out of his degree studies at Stirling University while he goes through the appeals process.

He said: “When I first arrived in Scotland to live with my dad, it was not easy. There were not many black faces at school and I worked hard to fit in. But I soon became part of things and I began to enjoy life here very much – it’s the only home I have now.”

The Home Office case is based around Mr Darku’s Ghana-born father Joseph spending several years living in Holland while his son remained in Scotland.