British family voices anger as teenagers evacuated from Lebanon without mother

The family of two UK teenagers evacuated from Lebanon have shared their anger with the Government after their non-British mother was blocked from boarding the flight with them.

David Hardie, a 36-year-old from Carluke, South Lanarkshire, told the PA news agency that his siblings Thomas, 19, and Rebecca, 16, caught an evacuation flight chartered by the UK government from Beirut to Birmingham on Wednesday.

The teenagers took a 45-minute taxi with their mother Nadia Ayoub McCulloch, 51, from the eastern outskirts of the Lebanese capital to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, witnessing “debris everywhere” as a result of Israeli bombing.

Ms McCulloch travelled to the airport and had purchased a ticket for the flight with her children as she hoped she would be able to board the flight – but her family said she was turned away by officials as she does not have a UK passport or visa.

Her Scottish husband of 20 years, William McCulloch, 62, told PA: “I just don’t understand it.

“We paid for the three seats, she went to the airport, and she was told that she can’t get on the flight because she didn’t have a visa.

“Rebecca organised everything and she may have been told before she left the house (that Ms McCulloch would be unable to board the flight), but she thought she would just go and try because she wanted to go with the kids, but she was told categorically, no.”

Mr McCulloch said the couple were evacuated with their son Thomas during the 2006 Lebanon war and had “no problem whatsoever”.

“But this time, I just… I don’t understand it,” he added.

Mr Hardie added: “It de-escalated pretty quickly (in 2006) but of course, this time, it’s looking like it’s definitely not going to de-escalate any time soon.”

Mr McCulloch, who works with the humanitarian organisation Norwegian People’s Aid, is currently working to clear unexploded ordnance in Iraq.

He has a flight back to Beirut booked on October 18, where he will join his wife and then hopes to leave the country with her.

“I have no problems going back into Beirut – if something happens, something happens, but 100% I’m going back to my wife,” he said.

His son Mr Hardie said it was “a lot of weight” and “pressure” off his shoulders to have his siblings home with him as they were both “worried” and the atmosphere is “very tense” in Lebanon.

“Even when they announced the flight, there was nothing about a ceasefire or how they were going to get to the airport or anything… that was scary for them, because you don’t know when the next bomb is going to hit,” he said.

On his mother’s situation stranded in Lebanon, Mr Hardie said: “I’m a bit angry.

“She is on her own because of the visa situation.

“My little sister spoke with someone on the phone, and she basically said she can apply for a visa, but there’s no guarantee she’ll get one, and there’s no guarantee how long it will be.

“They’ve been married for over 20 years – it’s not like they’ve been married for two or three years, they’ve been married 20 years, and she can’t even get evacuated from a war.”

Mr Hardie also criticised the cost of the UK government flights out of Lebanon, which were £350 per person.

“We’re not poor or anything but I still feel like, if you’ve been evacuated from a war-torn country, there should have been more help,” he said.

“I think that was a surprise. Like, you get a text message, you click a link, you go in, you sign your name, your passport number, and then at the end, it asks you for £350.

“There might have been families over there who couldn’t afford that.”

Asked his message to the UK government, he said: “Just try and help more.

“I know there’s limited flights, I know they put on more flights, but when we heard that at first, it said a flight, one flight.

“How many people can go on a plane? 300? How many Brits are stuck there? It could be thousands.

“I think there needs to be more done. I really do, I think charging people to evacuate them is a low blow and the visa situation – there needs to be some sort of emergency visa, or something that they can do, until they can apply for a legitimate visa.”

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has said: “FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Lebanon.

“If you are currently in Lebanon, we encourage you to leave, while commercial options remain available.”

The FCDO told PA it does not comment on individual cases.

Published: 04/10/2024 by Radio NewsHub