A lawyer from the Highlands is spearheading a fight for disenfranchised Britons to be allowed to vote in the EU referendum.
Jacquelyn MacLennan of Inverness, has lived in Brussels since 1987 and is a passionate believer in Britain remaining in Europe.
The 54-year-old is frustrated that she and thousands of other expatriats are currently being deprived of the opportunity to vote in the in-out ballot on June 23.
She has joined forces with another expat, war hero Harry Shindler, 95, who has born in London but has lived in Italy for some 35 years, to fight for their right to have a say in the referendum.
Section 2 of the EU Referendum Act 2015 excludes expats from voting if they have been living elsewhere in the EU for more than 15 years.
High Court judges upheld the UK Government’s stance on April 28 and rejected claims that the rule was incompatible with the right to freedom of movement under EU law.
Mr Shindler and Ms MacLennan are now asking the appeal judges to rule that the High Court has got the law wrong.
Ms MacLennan, who studied at Edinburgh University and did part of her training with the European Commission legal service, specialises in EU competition and environmental law.
She is a partner in the Brussels’ office of a global law firm, but also spends time working in London.
She said: “To not be able to have a say in a vote that will have such an impact on me seemed to me to be really wrong.
“Our argument is that, as a matter of European law, we are being penalised for utilising the right of free movement and our right of citizenship in the EU.”
She added that Britain leaving Europe would prevent her from carrying out some parts of her job.
The former Inverness High School pupil pointed out that her parents, Jean and Eoin MacLennan, live in Culloden and her sister, Kirsty Fuller lives in the Raigmore area of Inverness.
She said: “I still feel very connected with Britain and do not feel that I’m someone who has closed the door on my citizenship by moving outside the country.”
Ms MacLennan and Mr Shindler’s QC, Aidan O’Neill said “a very substantial number” of an estimated two million Britons who have moved to other EU countries are similarly disenfranchised.
He added that many were desperate to vote because they feared a win for the Brexit camp.
