Indian ‘Windrush scandal’ looming?
THERE ARE CONCERNS ABOUT HOW THE NEW INDIA-UK DEAL WILL DETERMINE LEGAL STATUS OF MIGRANTS IN BRITAIN
LET me begin by saying that all right-minded people will oppose illegal immigration – whether it is from India or anywhere else.
However, because of the way the Windrush scandal unfairly brutalised many African-Caribbean people – some were denied cancer treatment or wrongly deported – I do have concerns about the “ground-breaking partnership deal” signed by the UK and Indian governments last week.
It is well known that prime minister Narendra Modi enjoys enormous popularity among sections of the 2.5-million-strong Indian community in the UK. But this loyalty will be tested in the months and years to come.
Under the deal, there will be a more liberal visa regime that is aimed at attracting “the best and brightest” from India, “while ensuring those with no legal right to be in the UK are removed expeditiously”.
“Home secretary Priti Patel and India’s foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar signed the Migration and Mobility Partnership agreement, aimed at supporting people to live and work in both countries while addressing long-standing problems of illegal migration from India to the UK,” a Home Office statement said.
It added: “The historic agreement delivers on the UK government’s fair but firm New Plan for Immigration – attracting the best and brightest and supporting people coming to the UK through legal routes, while stopping the abuse of the system and speeding up the removal of those who have no right to be in the UK.
“The agreement will enhance and accelerate the processes to return Indian nationals with no legal right to stay in the UK and vice versa, and ensure greater co-operation around organised immigration crime.
“In a first of its kind between the two countries, both governments have agreed to enhanced mobility provisions for young professional Indian and British citizens which will allow people to live and work in the two countries for up to two years,” it continued.
“On illegal migration, the partnership will ensure swifter and more efficient returns by accelerating timescales for removals, by committing appropriate resources to facilitate returns, and steps to make it easier for Indian nationals to be identified and returned.
“Both governments are determined to tackle a wide range of immigration and homeland security issues.
“This agreement commits both countries to regular dialogue between the two governments in this area for the first time.”
The home secretary commented: “I am committed to delivering for the British public a fair but firm New Plan for Immigration that will attract the best and brightest talent to UK through our new points-based immigration system, while clamping down on those who are abusing the system. This ground-breaking new agreement with India is an important milestone in delivering on this pledge.
“This landmark agreement with our close partners in the government of India will provide new opportunities to thousands of young people in the UK and India seeking to live, work and experience each other’s cultures.
“This agreement will also ensure that the British government can remove those with no right to be in UK more easily and crack down on those abusing our system.”
When Theresa May went to Delhi as prime minister in November 2016, she failed to convince Modi to agree to the deal that was signed last week.
What is not clear is how the legal status of Indians will be checked. Will British Indians be asked at random to prove they are lawfully settled in the UK? Will there be police raids in the middle of the night? Will there be a witch hunt to seek out overstayers?
It is one thing for the Indian government to demand the extradition from the UK of the tycoon Vijay Mallya and the jeweller Nirav Modi, as Delhi has done, but quite another to adopt a policy that will impact on the lives of ordinary British Indians.
The recent example of the Windrush scandal is a chilling reminder of how things can go badly wrong.