A powerful plea to offer a welcome rather than a hostile environment to migrants was made by Archbishop Nolan during a solidarity protest at the detention centre in Dungavel.

Braving the rain, the Archbishop and supporters from Justice and Peace Scotland gathered outside the barbed wire fences behind which those seeking asylum are held.

The Archbishop was forthright in his views. He said: “Many of these people come from countries where war havsbeen raging for years – wars using weapons we in this country have sold to the opposing factions. Others come from lands where climate change has made life impossible. That climate change has been caused by us in the northern hemisphere who are creating the pollution which is causing devastation in their homelands.

“We have a responsibility for the plight they find themselves in and we have to recognize that.

“The earth is our common home. God has given the earth to ALL of humanity and we should recognize the dignity of our fellow human beings when they are in need and stretch out a welcoming hand to help them, not build barriers and hostile environments and threaten them with deportation to Rwanda.”

And he went on to criticize UK Government policy which makes it all but impossible for people to claim asylum.

He said: “We are the ones who have decided that the people behind this barbed wire are ‘illegal’ migrants or ‘illegal’ asylum seekers. There is nothing wrong with wanting to move elsewhere to take your family out of poverty to take your family to a safe haven, to a place where you can work and support them and where they can grow without the threat of starvation or violence.”

To watch the Archbishop : click here