Deportation of convicts is a ‘stain on Britain’, says activist
A COMMUNITY activist from Birmingham has condemned the deportation of 35 people to Jamaica on a controversial journey branded the “convict flight”.
Dozens of Caribbean nationals were removed from the UK on a flight from Birmingham Airport on Wednesday, according to reports.
But founder of Birmingham Empowerment Forum, Reverend Dr Desmond Jaddoo, slammed the move to deport as “colonialism”.
The flight has sparked a furious debate among MPs, with Labour’s David Lammy calling it “nothing less than a national scandal”.
The Labour former minister hit out at the charter flight to Jamaica deporting “up to 50 black British residents”.
It was understood at least seven – including a Birmingham father-of-five – gained a last-minute reprieve.
Branding the measures “a stain on Britain,” Dr Jaddoo said: “I am shocked Birmingham Airport is prepared to participate in this activity. It smacks of colonialism – back to the transportation process. If these people had a British passport they would still be here. They have served their time.”
Dr Jaddoo added: “This is supposed to be a caring society that supports rehabilitation.
“Make no mistake, this is back to the days of colonialism. It harks back to Britain the supreme ruler.”
In the House of Commons, Mr Lammy asked Home Secretary Sajid Javid whether he could be sure he was “not making the same mistakes” as with the Windrush scandal, adding: “Once enslaved, then colonised, and now repatriated.”
But the Cabinet minister hit back, saying the scheduled deportations were a charter flight “of foreign national offenders only”, and that “every single one of them was convicted of a serious crime”.
He said it was a “legal requirement” and Mr Lammy was asking him to “break the law” by not sending them to Jamaica.”
Mr Javid
also
took
issue with the questions posed of him, saying Mr Lammy “does himself a huge disservice in the way he speaks and the tone that he’s used to suggest there is even an ounce of racism in this House”.
Mr Javid replied: “I can say that none of those being deported are British citizens and none are members of the Windrush generation who are exempt under section seven of the 1971 Immigration Act.”
He added: “It is a flight to Jamaica, every single person that will be on that flight that is being deported is a foreign national offender, they are all convicted of serious crimes, very serious crimes.”
He added: “We are required under the law quite correctly to deport anyone that has such a serious conviction and this law applies universally to any foreign national offender.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “It is only right that we seek to deport foreign nationals who abuse our hospitality by committing crimes in the UK.
This ensures we keep the public safe.
All individuals on this charter flight are serious criminals.”
It is believed to be the first chartered deportation flight to Jamaica since the Windrush scandal, and has been condemned by campaigners who have accused the Home Office of “ripping fam i l ies apart”.
Make no mistake, this is back to the days of colonialism
Desmond Jaddoo