Ukrainian refugees who settled into a Scots town have been left upset after Scottish Government officials asked them to consider moving elsewhere in the country to make room for new arrivals.
A group of more than a dozen people fleeing the Russian invasion have been staying in the Mercure Hotel in Livingston after arriving in Scotland under the Super Sponsor Scheme.
Edinburgh Live reports that some of the refugees have already built relationships in the local community and have even been attending West Lothian College to learn English despite only arriving a few weeks ago.
However, the government yesterday asked them to consider moving to Aberdeen so new arrivals from Edinburgh Airport could stay nearby.
When speaking to Edinburgh Council, who are managing the welcome hub for the Ukrainian refugees, they told Edinburgh Live that the families were only asked to move and it wasn't enforced but that there could have been confusion due to the language barrier.
The request, while well-intentioned, has caused upset among the Ukrainians staying at the lodgings and those in the Livingston community that support them.
Locals gathered outside the hotel on the West Lothian town's Almondview on Friday in a show of support for their new friends.
Gary Gray, who runs the Scothosts voluntary support network for refugees, said the proposed move had caught some of the exiles off-guard.
He said: "These courageous individuals have been in the Mercure Hotel in Livingston for the last three weeks.
"As per the Super Sponsor Scheme they have requested to be in the Central Belt and have been making friends and have been attending college to learn English.
"This afternoon they were told at 3.30pm they were being moved against their wishes to a hotel in Aberdeen at 6.30pm.
"Myself and others who have gotten to know these people over last few weeks were asked to come and support them as they were extremely stressed and upset and didn’t know what to do."
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Gary added that the refugees, while not wishing to seem "ungrateful" for the support given to them, deserved to be treated with "dignity and compassion".
He continued: "It took a lot of courage from these brave people to contact us, as we have found most Ukrainians are extremely scared of authority and do not wish to seem ungrateful at the support Scotland is offering them.
The Super Sponsor Scheme was rolled out by the Scottish Government in the weeks after Russia first invaded Ukraine at the end of February.
It guarantees entry into the UK for Ukrainians fleeing the conflict, without requiring them to secure a UK-based sponsor first.
After they arrive, the Scottish Government places refugees in temporary accommodation such as a hotel, before later finding a longer term solution such as living with someone who has volunteered a room in their own home.
Responding to Gary Gray's claims, the government said that a group of refugees had volunteered to change hotels to make way for those arriving into the country late on Friday.
A spokesperson stressed that efforts were ongoing to put all new arrivals into more permanent accommodation.
They said: “We are working in partnership with local government and the third sector to ensure all those arriving at our Welcome Hubs are given a ‘Warm Scots Welcome’, with access to temporary hotel accommodation, trauma support and translation.
"Our national matching service is helping to identifying longer-term accommodation across the length and breadth of Scotland, from the generous accommodation offers made by the people of Scotland as well as from local authority and housing association properties.
“Yesterday a small group of people from Ukraine volunteered to change hotels so that those arriving late at night at Edinburgh Airport could access accommodation close by, rather than having to travel to hotels further afield.
"The Resettlement Team ensured everyone understood this was a voluntary arrangement and that rooms were available should they decide to stay.”
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