Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Home secretary Sajid promises immigration reforms after scandals

Britain's new home secretary pledged to create a "fair and humane immigration" system hours after being appointed as he tried to move beyond a scandal over moves to deport elderly legal immigrants that has rocked the government.

Prime minister Theresa May yesterday appointed Sajid Javid to replace Amber Rudd, who quit the key ministerial post of home secretary late Sunday after misleading lawmakers over deportation targets for illegal immigrants.


A rapid riser in the government, Javid's first task was to answer an urgent question in parliament amid continued fallout from the so-called Windrush scandal -- erroneous moves to deport legal but undocumented elderly immigrants from the Caribbean.

The scandal has prompted a wider debate about the government's harsh methods against illegal immigration.

"I want to start by making a pledge to the Windrush generation," he told lawmakers. "I will do whatever it takes to put it right."

While interior minister between 2010 and 2016 May pioneered controversial policies intended to create a "hostile environment" for people in Britain illegally.

They are now under fire for unfairly ensnaring the Windrush generation -- with fears EU citizens could be similarly targeted post-Brexit.

A second generation immigrant to Britain, Javid signaled he would be adopting a new tone in the role.

"I don't like the term hostile and I won't be using it," he vowed.

"It's a phrase that's unhelpful and doesn't represent our values as a country. It's about a compliant environment".

- Son of a bus driver -

Rudd was forced from office after telling lawmakers last week that there were no targets for the removal of people deemed to be in the country illegally.

She felt it "necessary" to tender her resignation after the emergence of documents showing those goals were in place.

"I should have been aware of this, and I take full responsibility for the fact that I was not," she said in her resignation letter to May, conceding that she "inadvertently misled" MPs.

Replacement Javid is the son of a Pakistani bus driver who had arrived in Britain in 1961 with one pound in his pocket.

The 48-year-old Javid was a senior investment banker at Deutsche Bank before being elected to parliament in 2010.

He joined the cabinet in 2014 as culture secretary before switching to business secretary in 2015 and communities secretary the following year.

He backed the losing Remain campaign in Britain's 2016 referendum on its European Union membership, but his pro-EU position was lukewarm.

Explaining the thinking behind Javid's appointment, May's spokesman said he was "one of the most experienced ministers" in Cabinet who had "proved his drive, his ambition and his determination to get to grips with difficult subjects".

Rudd, who was only appointed to the Home Office in 2016, was seen as a moderate on the EU and a balancing force in a cabinet containing several heavyweight pro-Brexit figures.

Her departure is unfortunate timing for May, whose centre-right Conservative Party faces potentially bruising local authority elections across England on Thursday.

Rudd was the fifth person to quit the cabinet since the June 2017 snap general election, called by May but which cost the Conservatives their majority in parliament.

James Brokenshire, who stepped down as Northern Ireland secretary in January to undergo lung operation, returned to cabinet to replace Javid in the housing, communities and local government brief.

- Clampdown -

Immigration control remains a hot topic in Britain and was a factor in the June 2016 vote to leave the EU.

May on Monday defended targets for the removal of illegal immigrants.

"If you talk to members of the public they want to ensure that we are dealing with people who are here illegally," she said.

Her clampdown on illegal immigration, that began as a bid to identify those without papers, scooped up many elderly people from the Windrush generation -- named after the ship that brought the first group of migrants from the West Indies in 1948.

Invited to Britain to help it rebuild after World War II, they were given a legal right to remain by a 1971 law.

However, many never formalised their status, often because they were children who came over on their parents' passports and then never applied for their own.

Some have lost jobs and fallen into debt as they struggled to prove their status.

More For You

Air India

The airline said the aircraft landed safely and was being inspected 'as a matter of abundant precaution'.

Getty

Delhi-bound Air India Dreamliner returns to Hong Kong mid-air due to technical issue

AN AIR INDIA Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner flying from Hong Kong to New Delhi returned to Hong Kong shortly after takeoff on Monday due to a suspected technical issue.

This incident comes days after an Air India flight to London, also a Boeing 787-8, crashed in Ahmedabad just after takeoff, killing 241 of the 242 people on board.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer-Getty

Starmer said earlier on Sunday that he had dropped his initial opposition to a national inquiry in favour of one being led by Louise Casey, a member of the parliament’s upper house. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Police crackdown on grooming gangs following national inquiry announcement

AUTHORITIES have announced a nationwide police operation targeting grooming gangs suspected of sexually exploiting thousands of girls and young women over several decades.

The announcement came hours after prime minister Keir Starmer said a national inquiry would be launched into the scandal, which recently drew attention from Elon Musk.

Keep ReadingShow less
british-airways

The airline did not provide details on the departure time, number of passengers or crew on board, or how long the flight was in the air before returning. (Representational image: Getty Images)

Getty Images

British Airways Chennai flight returns to London mid-air due to technical issue

A BRITISH AIRWAYS flight bound for Chennai returned to London mid-air on Sunday after reporting a technical issue.

The airline said the aircraft landed safely and passengers and crew disembarked normally. “The aircraft returned to Heathrow as a standard precaution after reports of a technical issue,” British Airways said in a statement.

Keep ReadingShow less
Siddhashram leads interfaith tribute to Ahmedabad plane crash victims

Gareth Thomas MP

Siddhashram leads interfaith tribute to Ahmedabad plane crash victims

Mahesh Liloriya

In the wake of the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, London came together in an emotional outpouring of grief and unity at the Siddhashram Shakti Centre in Harrow. Over two solemn days, the revered spiritual haven hosted a series of powerful ceremonies led by His Holiness Rajrajeshwar Guruji, drawing together faith leaders, public figures, and residents from across communities.

On the day of the tragedy, Guruji led a spiritually charged recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa 12 times, joined by a team of spiritual practitioners from India. The prayer created a deep atmosphere of collective mourning and healing.

Keep ReadingShow less