Therea May refuses to back Sajid Javid’s plans to roll back her controversial ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy after Windrush scandal
THERESA May has refused to back Sajid Javid’s plans to roll back her controversial "hostile environment” immigration policy after the Windrush scandal
The Prime Minister insisted she had the public’s backing for the tough measures on people coming to the UK despite her own Home Secretary’s call for change.
It was a system put in place when she was in the same role which is being blamed in part for the Windrush debacle, and she said action was being taken to make sure no-one was "mistakenly" affected.
But while in Canada for the G7 summit, she said: "If you talk to members of the public, what they want to know is to ensure that we are dealing with people who come to the UK illegally."
And asked if she was planning any changes as a result of the row, which saw people who came to Britain from the Caribbean decades ago threatened with deportation, Mrs May was clear.
She said: "I think what we need to do is to ensure that we are able to deal with those people who are in the UK illegally, but ensuring that people who are in the UK legally do not find themselves, as the Windrush generation did, mistakenly caught up in that.
"That's why the Home Office is looking to work with those who are of the Windrush generation to make sure they do have, where they need it - many of them do have the documentation already - but they don't get that documentation easily - that's why we have ensured that offer of British citizenship is open to them.
Pressed again on whether changes were necessary, she said: "We need to ensure that we keep measures in place that enable us to deal with those people who come to the UK illegally.
"What we do need to ensure is that, as we are applying those measures, we don't see people inadvertently caught up in that who are British and have the legal right to be in the UK."
It comes after Mr Javid threatened to tear up Mrs May’s immigration legacy after refusing to give his full backing to the Tories’ tens of thousands target.
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In his first major interview since taking over the job from Amber Rudd, he also indicated he would ditch some of the visa rules for foreign doctors, and exclude students from migration numbers.
Speaking on the BBC’s Marr Show, Mr Javid said: “It is something that I’m taking a fresh look at. I know a number of my colleagues certainly want me to take a look at this.”
It came after Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson called for the Government to scrap its target to have net migration at tens of thousands a year, saying it “does not fit the requirements of the country”.