Canada visa holders win World Piping Championships

August 17 2009 by Mark Johnstone

Simon Fraser University Pipe Band

A Canadian band, visiting Scotland on UK visas, has taken the title of world piping champions.

The winners were from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.

More than 8,000 pipers and drummers competed in the world championships held in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Canadians beat more than 200 bands from all over the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Eastern Europe and North America.

Despite heavy rainfall in parts of the week-long event, more than 40,000 turned out to see the pipers perform.

One band who failed to make the competition were the Lahore Pipe Band from Pakistan. They were refused visas to move to the UK last week.

The UK Border Agency stood by their decision to refuse the band a move to the UK even after Scottish secretary Jim Murphy intervened to try and reverse the decision.

UK immigration officials said: "We will make no apology for maintaining tough border controls created to prevent abuse of the immigration system."

The band, who have visited Britain on several occassions before, failed to obtain vaild UK visas after they failed to fill in the application forms correctly and with the relevant proof to secure UK visitor visas.

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