A FIRE-SPOUTING bagpiper from America known for his avid support for Scottish independence is facing deportation after attempting to enter Scotland.
Ryan Randall, 34, has been detained in Dungavel immigration removal centre in South Lanarkshire after flying into Edinburgh last night.
The kilted busker came to prominence after leading a pro-independence march on the day of 2014's referendum, with flames shooting from the top of his bagpipes.
Last year, he was one of six members of the Scottish Resistance, a nationalist fringe group, who protested inside the Spanish Consulate in support of Catalonia.
Mr Randall, from Las Vegas, was hoping to spend the rest of the summer in Scotland but is now facing being forced to catch a flight back to the US on Monday.
Home Office officials insist he needs a work visa as he plans to busk during the Edinburgh Festival. They also raised fears he may never have returned to America as he has no other income.
But Mr Randall and his fellow Scottish Resistance members have suggested the move is “politically motivated” due to his campaigning past.
Veteran street protester Sean Clerkin insisted: “He has been very prominent in the independence movement, and in the referendum campaign and beyond that.
“He has come over here six previous summers and there was never a problem. It’s absolutely ridiculous. He should not be in Dungavel. It’s an abuse of his human rights.”
Speaking to The Herald from Dungavel, Mr Randall insisted he had never needed a work visa in the past, adding: “I think it’s probably because of the independence movement [campaigning].”
He said: “I have never missed a flight. I have always been on time for my return flight back to America – and this is my sixth year coming to Scotland.”
He admitted he did have a warrant issued against him after failing to pay a $1,000 fine for “obstructing” a pavement while busking in Las Vegas, but said this was not brought up by UK officials.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Non-EU nationals seeking to enter the UK as visitors are not permitted to work. Those intending to work in the UK require the appropriate visa to do so.”
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