Labour to ramp up pressure on Theresa May over the Windrush Scandal
01 May 2018
Tomorrow (Wednesday 2nd May 2018), Labour will use the same Parliamentary procedure that was used to force the Government to hand over 58 Brexit impact papers to bring about a binding vote demanding the publication of internal Government correspondence on the Windrush Scandal.Labour’s opposition day motion calls on the Government to provide the Home Affairs Select Committee with all papers, correspondence and advice – including emails and text messages – from 11 May 2010 up to 1 May 2018, between Ministers, senior officials and Special Advisers relating to policy decisions with regard to ‘Windrush generation’ cases. This includes deportations, detentions and refusal of re-entry, the setting of deportation and removal targets and their effects on people’s lives.
Labour will be demanding answers to the serious questions which remain over the Government’s actions, to find out exactly what Ministers, including Theresa May, knew and the impact of their hostile environment policy on people’s lives. This follows Theresa May’s refusal to come before the House on Monday to answer an urgent question from Labour’s Diane Abbott over the Government’s handling of the affair.
Labour will use an ancient, but still effective, Parliamentary procedure that gives the House of Commons the power to require Ministers to release Government papers to Parliament. Unlike typical opposition day debates, the motion, if passed, will be binding on the Government.
Diane Abbott MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, said:
“With the resignation of Amber Rudd, Theresa May has lost her human shield and must now fully account for the policies she created and drove through from the Home Office into Downing Street.
“The Windrush Scandal has exposed something rotten at the heart of Government. We need to know what has led to this situation.
“If the Prime Minister is too weak to be accountable, Labour will have to force her to be accountable. We have had enough of Ministers trying to dodge questions and blame others, we need full disclosure of all the facts.”
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