UK: New Home Secretary Javid pledges Windrush help

UK: New Home Secretary Javid pledges Windrush help
Copyright REUTERS/Toby Melville
By Lesley Alexander
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Sajid Javid, the first Interior Minister from Britain's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community, says that putting things right for the Windrush generation is his immediate priority

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Britain's new Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, has pledged to do all he can to help victims of the Windrush scandal - mostly Caribbean immigrants and their descendants denied basic rights after being falsely branded illegal.

Himself a second generation migrant whose parents came to the UK from Pakistan, Javid has made clear that this is personal.

"When I heard that people who were longstanding pillars of their community were being impacted for simply not having the right documents to prove their legal status in the UK, I thought that it could be my mum, my brother, my uncle or even me," Javid told the House of Commons on Monday.

Javid is the first MP from Britain's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community to become Home Secretary.

He replaces Amber Rudd, who resigned on Sunday night after weeks of pressure from Jeremy Corbyn's opposition Labour Party.

It has now turned its fire on Theresa May, a long-serving home secretary before she became prime minister. Critics say that she is behind overly harsh immigration policies.

The mini-reshuffle also alters the delicate Brexit balance in May's top team.

Rudd opposed Britain leaving the European Union but Javid, a lukewarm "remainer" said that after the referendum, "in some ways, we are all Brexiteers now".

with Reuters

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