Woman supported by MPs sentenced to jail

The woman who took her case to the Scottish Parliament and the House of Commons has been sentenced to jail for 18 months for lying about her background.

Fatou Gaye and her 4-year-old son Arouna were removed from their Glasgow residence in a move which sparked widespread publicity and sympathy. SNP Member John Mason brought up the case to the attention of the House of Commons while fellow MP Christina McKelvie of the SNP raised it with the UK Home Office.

Both of the MPs were lured in by Gaye’s story of her home on the Ivory Coast but it transpired that the 38 year-old Gaye was in fact from Senegal in yesterday’s Luton Crown Court session.

The prosecution claimed that Gaye had cost over £100,000 to taxpayers after repeated appeals and tribunal reviews. Gaye was also provided with accommodation, cash and food tokens in what prosecutors labeled a web of deceit over the past four years.

Ms Gaye first arrived in the UK on a visitor’s visa from Senegal in mid-2004. In early 2005 she approached the Croydon office of the UK Border Agency requesting refugee status for herself and her son claiming they were from the Ivory Coast. Gaye persisted with the lie until May this year when she admitted the truth. She had apparently been informed that an Ivory Coast national would have more chance of success in remaining in the UK.

Gaye broke down after being sentenced to serve time for two charges of attempting to remain in the UK by deception.