Thank you to all those who contacted me about a deportation flight to Jamaica on 18 May 2022.

According to reports, up to 100 people were planned to be on this flight. However, the flight ultimately left the UK with seven people on board.

I am aware of the concerns that have been raised around these deportation flights, particularly following the Windrush scandal. As we know, members of the Windrush generation were deported illegally in recent years, while being denied access to healthcare, housing and access to employment due to the Government’s “hostile environment” policies.

While the Government has generally committed to the recommendations made in Wendy Williams’ Lessons Learned review around the Windrush scandal, it has given no clear timetable for their implementation. Given the Government’s record on Windrush, I believe it is right to question whether the necessary and appropriate due diligence has been undertaken in relation to those on deportation flights.

The Home Office has a responsibility to make sure that rules are fairly enforced and that means ensuring that deportation decisions are right. This is an important issue and one that I continue to follow closely. The injustices of the Windrush scandal can never be allowed to happen again.

Thank you once again for contacting me and for sharing your views.