Amber Rudd resigns - as it happened: Sajid Javid appointed new home secretary
Home secretary steps down after increasing pressure over handling of Windrush scandal
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sajid Javid has made his debut in Parliament as the new home secretary following the resignation of Amber Rudd.
As he arrived at the Home Office to take up new his job earlier in the day, Mr Javid vowed to make sure people caught up in the Windrush scandal are treated with “decency and fairness”.
Ms Rudd became the fifth departure from the cabinet since last year’s snap general election after admitting she had “inadvertently” misled MPs over the existence of targets for removing illegal immigrants.
The MP for Hastings and Rye stepped down on Sunday evening, a day before she was due to make a statement in the House of Commons on the targets and illegal migration, as she faced increasing pressure over the handling of the Windrush fiasco.
Following Mr Javid's appointment as home secretary, the Press Association has set out the key items on his agenda:
The Windrush fallout
The scandal that set in motion the events that ultimately resulted in Amber Rudd's departure is far from resolved. Officials are working through hundreds of cases reported to a dedicated helpline, with the number of potential Windrush cases standing at more than 1,300 last week. Mr Javid will also have to oversee the compensation and citizenship schemes announced for those affected by the fiasco.
The 'hostile environment'
Measures to crack down on illegal immigration have come under sharp focus and calls for the policy to be abandoned are unlikely to subside after Ms Rudd's resignation. Her successor will also doubtless face questions over the department's targets culture, in particular in the area of immigration.
Brexit
Recent events have prompted fresh questions over the Home Office's capacity to manage the vast bureaucratic exercise associated with Britain's departure from the EU. Later this year, the process of assigning status to more than three million EU nationals living in the UK will begin, while the department will be responsible for implementing whatever new immigration system is brought in after the end of the implementation period in 2020.
Crime
Before the furore over Windrush and immigration targets erupted, the Home Office was already coming under mounting pressure after a spate of deadly violence in London. Figures released last week showed police in England and Wales registered rises in knife and gun crime last year. Mr Javid will inherit leadership of the Government's strategy to tackle serious violence - the unveiling of which earlier this month was overshadowed by a fresh row over police officer numbers.
Terrorism
The official threat level remains at severe, meaning an attack is "highly likely". Britain was hit by five attacks last year, and police and MI5 have around 23,000 individuals on their radar. An early task for Mr Javid will be to finalise the Government's refreshed counter-terror strategy, which is expected to be presented in the coming weeks.
It was reported yesterday that Mr Javid said the Windrush scandal felt "very personal" because it could have been him and his family facing threats of deportation.
Mr Javid has said his "most urgent" task is to make sure people caught up in the Windrush fiasco are treated with the "decency and fairness" they deserve.
He would be looking "carefully" at the Government's immigration policy to ensure people are treated with respect, he added.
He said: "My first priority is to make sure the Home Office always does all it can to keep the British people safe.
"That's a huge responsibility, something I take very seriously.
"The most urgent task I have is to help those British citizens that came from the Caribbean, the so-called Windrush generation, and make sure that they are treated with the decency and the fairness that they deserve."
He added: "We are going to have a strategy in place that does something the previous Home Secretary set out last week when she made a statement to Parliament about making sure we have an immigration policy that is fair, it treats people with respect and with decency.
"That will be one of my most urgent tasks, to make sure we look carefully at the policy and make sure it achieves just that."
Mr Javid also said he would call his mother later to tell her the news.
"My parents came to our great country in the 60s," he said. "They came from Pakistan to help build this country.
"I think for them to see one of their sons rise to this great office of state, I'm sure they will be very proud.
"But I haven't called my mum yet but I will do later."
The Press Association has spoken to Theresa May's official spokesman about the resignation of Ms Rudd and the appointment of Mr Javid.
The prime minister was at home in her Maidenhead constituency when Ms Rudd rang to tell her of her decision to resign on Sunday evening, the spokesman said, adding that she had not previously offered to resign.
Asked why the PM had not demanded Ms Rudd's resignation earlier, when it became clear that she had given misleading information to a parliamentary committee, the spokesman stressed that, while Mrs May was aware of targets for illegal immigrant removals during her time as home secretary, she ceased receiving this operational information when she left the Home Office.
A 2017 letter to the PM in which Ms Rudd spoke of her plans to increase removals "by more than 10 per cent over the next few years" did not relate to a target but to an "aim over a non-specific period", he said.
Explaining the thinking behind Mr Javid's appointment, the spokesman said: "Sajid Javid is one of the most experienced ministers around the Cabinet table.
"At Housing, he has proved his drive, his ambition and his determination to get to grips with difficult subjects. These are abilities that will all be required at the Home Office."
Housing remained "a personal priority" for the prime minister, said the spokesman, who added that Mr Brokenshire was "very experienced in Cabinet and as an MP for the South East understands the absolute priority of delivering greater levels of housing, so more people can get their foot on the housing ladder".
He added: "James Brokenshire has a track record for the compassion and hard work which will be required in the ongoing work in relation to the Grenfell tragedy".
The PM's spokesman confirmed Mr Javid will sit on the Government's crucial Brexit sub-committee, which meets later this week to discuss policy on customs arrangements following EU withdrawal.
Theresa May is currently speaking on Sky News about Amber Rudd's resignation - she acknowledged when she was home secretary between 2010 and 2016 there were targets in relation to illegal immigration
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Brooklands Primary School in Sale, Greater Manchester, Mrs May was asked three times if the Windrush scandal was a resignation matter for her or if she should take responsibility for it.
She said: "If you look at the concerns that people have in the Windrush generation, these people are British, they are here, they are part of us, they have a right to be here.
"What some of them don't have is documents that show that and this is an issue that I think has come up in individual cases over a number of years, but what the Home Office is now doing is putting a team in place, we're reaching out and anybody from the Windrush generation who is anxious about this should get in touch with that team.
"They can help them to ensure they have the documents necessary and can get that citizenship that we've been clear is available to them and open to them, because they're British and they are part of us so I want to give them the reassurance that we want to ensure that they are no longer anxious about their future."
When asked for a second time if the scandal was a resignation matter for her, May said: "The Windrush generation are British, they are here, they are part of us and what we have done is, in recognising the concern that has been raised, put a team in place that will be working with people to ensure that they get the documents that are necessary.
"What happened was when people in the Windrush generation came to the UK they weren't provided with documents that showed their right to be here.
"They have contributed to our society, they have contributed to our country over the years, they helped to build this country, we now want to give them the reassurance that they deserve."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments