For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts
Oneindia App Download

Britain Home Secretary Amber Rudd resigns over immigration controversy ahead of Brexit

By Shubham
|
Google Oneindia News

Great Britain's Home Secretary Amber Rudd on Monday, April 30, quit after facing increasing pressure over a scandal on the issue of mistreating long-term Caribbean residents dubbed illegal immigrants.

Great Britains Home Secretary Amber Rudd

Rudd, who was due to make a statement in the House of Commons later on Monday, had been under intensifying pressure to resign over the residents who were brought to the UK from the "Windrush generation" from the 1940s.

The Windrush generation is the group of people who reached the UK in 1948-71 from the Caribbean islands. They reached Tilbury Docks in Essex in the UK in a ship named MV Empire Windrush to cater to the country's post-Second World War labour shortages. The ship brought 492 people, many of whom were children.

Rudd, an MP from East Sussex, was criticised over the deportation targets of the UK Home Office and her having the knowledge about it.

Her resignation was accepted by British Prime Minister Theresa May, Downing Street sources said, according to reports. Rudd had informed May about her decision of stepping down over telephone.

Rudd came under massive pressure over explaining the apparent incongruities between her evidence given to the Parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee last week which denies having any knowledge about the deportation targets for UK's illegal immigrants and a leaked memo which had linked her to those targets.

The controversy took a serious shape after a report by The Guardian said some people who came to the UK from the West Indies in the post-war decades were denied medical care and even threatened to be deported since they could not show papers to confirm their right to reside in the UK.

Rudd, along with PM May, was on an apologising spree in the recent times over the Windrush generation issue, saying the pre-1973 Commonwealth immigrants who didn't have British citizenship would get it and those affected would be compensated.

Rudd, 54, is known to be one of May's closest allies and her resignation in the months leading to the UK's formal exit from the European Union in March 2019 is considered to be a serious blow.

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X