Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

David Lammy accuses government of 'pandering to racism'

LABOUR MP David Lammy has questioned home secretary Sajid Javid’s decision to deport people to Jamaica before the Windrush inquiry was completed.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday(5), Lammy branded the deportations as nothing less than a national scandal. In an impassioned speech, he asked, “Why is it that still in this country black lives matter less?”


Lammy's remark came after it emerged that a further 18 people were wrongly sent back to the Caribbean.

"Every single one of these cases is a shocking indictment of your government's pandering to a far-right racism, sham immigration targets and the dog-whistle of the right-wing press," Lammy said.

“We are now ten months on from when this scandal broke. Not a penny has been paid out to any Windrush victim in a compensation scheme. The independent Windrush lessons review has not yet reported,” said Lammy.

Javid responded saying those deported were foreign national offenders and that "every single one of them [was] convicted of a serious crime."

Javid said he was committed righting the wrongs of Windrush citizens.

Hitting back at Lammy, the home secretary further added that the Labour MP "does himself a huge disservice in the way that he speaks and the tone that he's used to suggest there is even an ounce of racism in this House."

Meanwhile, Javid has been accused of "misleading" the House of Commons by claiming they were all convicted of "very serious crimes [...] like rape and murder, fire arms offences and drug trafficking".

Information provided by the Movement for Justice about 26 of the deportees claims that only one was convicted of rape. None of them were convicted of murder and others were jailed for offences such as drugs possession and minor assault.

Minnie Rahman, public affairs and campaigns manager at the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, told the Independent that Javid’s comments were "not only misleading but a clear attempt to distract attention from the cruel deportation of people who have lived in the UK their entire lives".

More For You

Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)
Healthcare workers hold placards as they demonstrate on Westminster Bridge, near to St Thomas' Hospital in London on May 1, 2023. (Photo: Getty Images)

Teachers, nurses warn of strikes over 2.8 per cent pay rise proposal

TEACHERS and nurses may strike after the government recommended a 2.8 per cent pay rise for public sector workers for the next financial year.

Ministers cautioned that higher pay awards would require cuts in Whitehall budgets.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)
A man walks past a mural that says ‘Northern Ireland’, on Sandy Row in Belfast, Northern Ireland, August 11, 2024. (Photo: Reuters)

Northern Ireland approves extension of post-Brexit trade rules

NORTHERN Ireland’s devolved government has voted to continue implementing post-Brexit trading arrangements under the Windsor Framework, a deal signed between London and the European Union in February 2023.

The vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont extended the arrangement for four years.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'
Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member.

'Covid bereavement rates in Scotland highest among Asians'

THE bereavement rates due to Covid in Scotland have been highest among those identifying with ‘Any other’ ethnic group (68 per cent), followed by Indians (44 per cent) and Pakistanis (38 per cent), a new study revealed. This is significantly higher than the national average of around 25 per cent.

Ethnic groups were found to be two-and-a-half times more likely to have experienced the loss of a close family member during the Covid crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,  on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)
Harmeet Dhillon gives a benediction at the end of the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15, 2024. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump nominates Harmeet Dhillon for top Department of Justice role

US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American attorney Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.

“I am pleased to nominate Harmeet K Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights at the US Department of Justice,” Trump announced on Monday on Truth Social, his social media platform.

Keep ReadingShow less
Brella's body was discovered in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, on 14 November. (Photo: Northamptonshire Police)
Brella's body was discovered in the boot of a car in Ilford, east London, on 14 November. (Photo: Northamptonshire Police)

Harshita Brella case: Marriage, abuse, and a tragic end

HARSHITA BRELLA, a 24-year-old woman living in Corby, Northamptonshire, was found dead in the boot of a car on 14 November.

Her husband, Pankaj Lamba, is suspected of killing her and is believed to have fled to India.

Keep ReadingShow less