The Windrush generation deportation: Theresa May to meet with Caribbean leaders as she seeks to allay fears

Theresa May: The Prime Minister is set to meet with Caribbean leaders today
AFP/Getty Images

Theresa May is set to meet Caribbean leaders after ministers were forced to apologise for the “appalling” treatment of the Windrush generation.

The move came amid growing anger that people who had lived in Britain since they were schoolchildren were now being denied access to healthcare and threatened with deportation over UK paperwork issues.

Downing Street insisted no one with a right to be in the country would be made to leave and that the Prime Minister will seek to offer further reassurances.

This is expected to come when she meets Caribbean leaders in the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in London on Tuesday.

In the Commons on Monday, Ms Rudd acknowledged the Home Office had become "too concerned with policy and strategy" at the expense of the individual.

"I do not want any of the Commonwealth citizens who are here legally to be impacted in the way they have," she told MPs.

"Frankly, some of the ways they have been treated has been wrong, has been appalling and I am sorry."

Ms Rudd said fees for sorting out the paperwork of those affected would be waived so they could have their status confirmed free of charge.

She said she had also given instructions that there were "no removals or detention" of Commonwealth citizens under the new assistance scheme.

David Lammy branded the move as 'awful'
PA Archive/PA Images

The announcement came after a cross-party group of 140 MPs wrote to Mrs May calling for an "immediate and effective" response to problems faced by members of theWindrush generation.

Labour MP David Lammy who organised the letter said it was a "day of national shame" and that it was "inhumane and cruel" that so many people had had to live with such uncertainty for so long.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in