LONDON: The British media had warned of a flood of new Bulgarian and Romanian migrants arriving on January 1, but judging by this week’s coverage, they only appeared to have found one.
Victor Spirescu, a 30-year-old Romanian, has become an unexpected star after flying into Luton airport, north of London, on the day EU labour market restrictions on his nation and Bulgaria were lifted.
He has become the face of the new arrivals, featuring in several newspapers — including for a double-page spread in The Times — appearing on Sky News and has been interviewed by the Romanian media back home.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper even travelled to Romania to interview his 19-year-old fiancee, Catalina Curcean, in what it called their “ramshackle” house outside the village of Pelisor in Transylvania.
A gaggle of journalists had gathered to greet Spirescu’s flight on January 1, in hopes of a story about hordes of migrants arriving to seek work and possibly to abuse Britain’s welfare system. But of the 140 passengers on board the 180-seat plane from Tirgu Mures in central Romania, most were already working in Britain and were returning from their Christmas holidays.
Spirescu was one of the exceptions, making his first trip to Britain to earn enough money to take home so he and his future wife could finish renovating their house. AFP
