Borders Act comes back to bite Lammy

AMid angry and emotional scenes in the Commons last week, Labour MP david Lammy tabled an emergency question about the deportation of serious criminals back to their homeland of Jamaica.

‘People watching will see the way the Government holds in such disrespect the contribution of West indian, Caribbean and black people in this country,’ said the black MP for Tottenham, adding: ‘When will black lives matter once again?’

if Lammy really wants to blame someone for the deportations, he would do well to start by looking in the mirror.

A government minister for two years under Tony Blair, in June 2007 Lammy was promoted to Minister for Universities in Gordon Brown’s administration.

Three months later, his government passed the UK Borders Act which, and i quote, ‘allows automatic deportation of some foreign nationals in two circumstances: if they are imprisoned for specific offences, or they are imprisoned for more than one year’.

Not a word of public protest at the time from Lammy, with his government salary and chauffeurdriven car.

in fact, his votes helped pass the legislation that enabled last week’s deportations to take place.

An InvItAtIon arrives from nationwide building society, which is holding a conference next month with housing minister esther Mcvey. Beside her name the invitation says: ‘to be confirmed’. Clearly, the nationwide has a nostradamus in its ranks. Mcvey was sacked in last week’s reshuffle.