Palestinian students could find a foothold in Scotland’s universities due to campaigners’ efforts to secure scholarships for the best and brightest.

Scottish trade unions threw their backing behind the project yesterday at their national congress in Dundee, with activists branding it a “practical” show of support.

Edinburgh Trades Union Council’s Terry Brotherstone told delegates that Palestinian students had “very little opportunity to do postgraduate study” in their besieged homeland.

But a pilot project at St Andrews University since 2011 has seen it waive fees for qualifying Palestinian scholars, while a charitable trust had helped them meet their living costs.

Mr Brotherstone praised the project as “a template for civilised social relations across Europe.”