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City welcomes 50 new citizens on St George's Day

Ryan Dobney& Angela Ferguson
BBC News, Liverpool
Reporting fromLiverpool
BBC / Ryan Dobney Mohamed Wurie smiles as he stands with his hands clasped together, with a staircase at St George's Hall behind him. He is wearing a dark blue suit with a white shirt and red, white and blue striped tie, along with a black coat.BBC / Ryan Dobney
Mohamed Wurie said he was "chuffed to bits" to become a British citizen on St George's Day at St George's Hall, Liverpool

Fifty people from around the world have been made British citizens in Liverpool during a special ceremony on St George's Day.

The event at St George's Hall in the city saw the new citizens pledging their allegiance to the UK in front of the Deputy Lieutenant for Merseyside, Liam Hanlon, who was representing King Charles.

Mohamed Wurie, 40, who is originally from Sierra Leone in West Africa, said that he felt the lyrics of the Liverpool FC anthem You'll Never Walk Alone "encapsulates my journey to citizenship".

"I'll never walk alone," he said, adding: "I consider myself to be a Scouser".

BBC / Ryan Dobney Angelika Kwidzinska is smiling as she stands on a sweeping staircase inside St George's Hall. She has long brown hair and is wearing a red dress with a navy blue raincoat.BBC / Ryan Dobney
Angelika Kwidzinska said being made a British citizen at the ceremony on St George's Day felt "very special"

Mr Wurie, who moved to the UK to study law in 2015, said he felt "really grateful to the UK, the government and the people".

Angelika Kwidzinska, 45, who also took part in the ceremony, said she felt "very humble" to have been made a British citizen on St George's Day, having moved to the UK from Poland 15 years ago.

She said she was from the port city of Gdansk and, while she had visited many cities across the UK, she felt happy to live in Liverpool, also a port city.

BBC / Ryan Dobney Alma Partington is smiling as she stands next to a sweeping staircase. She has long black hair and is wearing a red coat and a black and white top, with a black handbag over her arm.BBC / Ryan Dobney
Alma Partington, who is originally from the Philippines, said she was very proud to become a British citizen

Mr Hanlon represented King Charles at the ceremony, telling the new citizens that he was a third generation Irish immigrant, with his family having moved to Liverpool in the 1930s.

He said he used to listen to his grandfather talking about how welcoming the communities were when he first arrived in Liverpool.

The ceremony at St George's Hall, he said, was "another continuing part of that story".

Alma Partington, 44, who is originally from the Philippines, said the people of Liverpool were "very friendly" and she was "grateful and happy" to become a British citizen.

Liverpool City Council Rows of people of all ages are seated inside St George's Hall, with the historic surroundings including a large chandelier. A number of British flags and a framed photo of King Charles can be seen at the front of the hall.Liverpool City Council
About 50 people were made British citizens at the ceremony held on St George's Day

Mr Hanlon agreed Liverpool was a "hugely welcoming" city "across all the generations and throughout history".

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins said: "This is what Liverpool is all about, a city that welcomes, embraces and celebrates the people who choose to call it home."

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