Jamaica Gleaner

UK TO MAKE IT RIGHT

>> BRITISH GOV’T OFFERS WINDRUSH MIGRANTS CITIZENSHI­P

- Edmond Campbell/ Senior Staff Reporter edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com

INUNDATED BY a flood of harsh criticisms and public outrage over its handling of the Windrush Generation saga, the Theresa May-led Conservati­ve Party Government yesterday moved beyond apology and compensati­on and pledged to grant citizenshi­p to Caribbean migrants who helped to rebuild post-war Britain.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who has faced the brunt of criticisms from opposition lawmakers in the British Parliament on the issue, yesterday told her colleagues that she recognised the “harrowing” experience­s that the Windrush migrants had undergone, even as she committed to righting the wrongs that had occurred.

She again apologised for the change in immigratio­n rules that forced Caribbean nationals who migrated to the United Kingdom (UK) between 1948 and 1973 to prove that their status in Britain was legitimate by producing documentar­y evidence.

‘WE LET THEM DOWN’

“I am personally committed to resolving this situation with urgency and purpose. Of course, an apology is just the first step in putting right the wrongs that these people have suffered,” she told members of parliament.

“This should never have happened. We need to show a human face to how we work and exercise greater judgement where it is justified,” Rudd told Parliament, adding that all Home Office records dating back to 2002 would be checked to see if anyone had been wrongly deported.

“The State has let these people down – travel documents denied, exclusions of returning to the UK, benefits cut and threats to deport. This has happened for some time. I will

put this right, and where people have suffered loss, they will be compensate­d,” she told lawmakers.

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