‘A bitter end’ — Rev Hough deported

  Jan 12, 2021 9:25 am Ibrar Younas 6575
THE former chaplain of St Andrew’s Church in Girne has been deported from North Cyprus for failing to have a valid residency permit, Cyprus Today has learned.

‘A bitter end’ — Rev Hough deported

Taken from this week's issue

 

Police sources told this newspaper that Wendy Hough, 57, was sent to South Cyprus via the Ledra Palace checkpoint in Lefkoşa last month, after she was picked up from her Lapta home.

A St Andrew’s Church source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that while Ms Hough had ceased serving as a reverend in August 2018 she had continued to reside at The Hermitage – the official chaplaincy residence – up to eight months ago.

“The government acted very fairly by extending the time afforded to people to take out residency permits due to the Covid-19 lockdown,” the source said.

“But if a person takes advantage of this and fails to obtain a residency permit and continues to stay here illegally, than this is the consequence. Nobody is above the law.”

Ex-member of the church council, Carol Blackwell-Gibbs, said: “In the end, the police enforced the law, as they would do for anyone flouting the rules. It should not be forgotten that we are expats and there is an immigration requirement that requires us to take out residency permits in order to stay in North Cyprus.”

Cyprus Today reported in September 2018 that Wendy Hough had tendered her resignation from the Girne church on May 4 of that year and had requested a three-month notice period, which ended on August 4, 2018.

The Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf had said at the time that it was waiting for her to vacate The Hermitage in order to prepare it for her successor.

The departure of Hough from her position came after questions were raised about the church’s accounting and administration procedures, sparked after a weddings file went missing from the vestry in December of 2017, leading to a diocesan investigation into the matter.



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