Kirk in family deportation plea

David Blunkett is being urged to halt the deportation

The Church of Scotland has written to Home Secretary David Blunkett to express concern at plans to deport a Burmese family living in Shetland.

Hazel Theingi Minn and her two adopted sons have been told by the Home Office they must return to Burma.

The order has led to protests in Shetland from local people and politicians who say the family are an integral part of the community.

Reverend Charles Greig, of the Shetland Presbytery, said they should stay.

Ms Minn, 37 and her sons, Simon, 12, and Vincent, 11, left their home in Burma to flee the military junta and moved into the boys' maternal grandparents' farm in Hillswick, northern Shetland, two years ago.

The church's help is fantastic, we appreciate all the help we can get Bert Armstrong Grandfather

The population of Shetland has been declining by 1,000 every 10 years.

In his letter, Rev Greig said the children were settled in Shetland and there was concern about the impact of uprooting them.

He wrote: "Shetland is a very welcoming place where people from all over Britain as well as from abroad have settled and live harmoniously.

'Living in fear'

"We are particularly concerned about the safety of Hazel Minn and her sons should they be expected to return to Burma.

"For some time Burma as you will know has had an appalling record on human rights and much of the population lives in fear.

"We fear that Hazel and her family would at best have no quality of life and at worst would face a traumatic future in which their safety would always be threatened."

Mr Armstrong says the community wants the family to stay

Bert Armstrong, the boys' grandfather, said Hazel was grateful so many people were taking an interest in her case.

He told BBC News Online Scotland: "The church's help is fantastic, we appreciate all the help we can get.

"Mr Blunkett should look at our case in perspective. We haven't asked for a penny and the people of Shetland want immigrants to come here yet the Home Office wants to throw people out.

"Cases should be looked at properly and judged on their individual merits."

He warned that if they were deported, money posted to them in Burma would be intercepted by the military junta.

Mr Armstrong also revealed the Shetland community had sent a petition with 3,500 signatures to Mr Blunkett urging him to overturn the decision.