WATCH Sajid Javid reveals 164 people were wrongly detained or deported as part of Windrush scandal
2 min read
Sajid Javid has revealed that the Government is dealing with 164 cases where people were wrongly detained or deported as part of the Windrush scandal.
The Home Secretary said his department had been working on a historic case review over the summer and that he was “determined” to help victims.
The Home Office came under fire earlier this year when it emerged that some of the UK’s Windrush generation had been refused their rights as British citizens after being unable to produce certain documents.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show today, Mr Javid revealed the latest figure for the number of victims who were detained or deported before the scandal came to light.
He said: “This remains a priority for me. What happened to some of the Windrush generation is completely unacceptable on every level.
“We have been working through the summer on a historic cases review and we have determined around 164 people – we believe… were either detained or wrongly removed.
The Home Secretary said that of that group, 18 cases were considered “severe”.
He continued: “Sadly, three of those have died. I have written to 15 and through the respective high commissions I am contacting the families of the other three.”
Mr Javid apologised for what had happened to some of the Windrush generation, admitting it had been a “national scandal”.
He also called on Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott to apologise to the victims, as he said that around half of the 164 cases had happened under the last Labour government.
He said: “It is a scandal that goes back many years under successive governments.
“I was also able to reveal that of those 164 cases, roughly half happened under the Labour years, and I’ve rightly apologised on behalf of this government and the coalition government for what happened.
“There are still many people that are waiting for an apology from Diane Abbott on behalf of what happened under Labour governments.”
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