Kerry McCarthy Labour MP for Bristol East
It’s shameful that the Government hasn’t given assurances to the immigrants from the Windrush generation, who have lived, worked, and paid taxes in Britain for decades, that they can remain in Britain without producing documents proving they have been here since before 1973. Many people simply do not have such documents, such as Albert Thompson, who has lived in London for over 40 years, but is being denied cancer care on the NHS and faces a £54,000 charge for treatment he has received so far.
The Government has now admitted that some people have even been wrongly deported. I am ashamed that we are treating people who have contributed so much to this country so poorly, and I have co-signed a letter calling for the Prime Minister to guarantee the status of Commonwealth nationals in this country. It is now up to the Government to act to give this generation of migrants the assurance they need and deserve. There’s a petition calling for an amnesty to all minors who arrived in Britain between 1948 and 1971, and I would encourage people to sign.
