May appointed Sajid Javid, a second-generation migrant whose parents came to Britain from Pakistan, as Home Secretary on Monday morning, plugging a hole left when predecessor Amber Rudd fell victim to a growing controversy over the treatment of the so-called Windrush generation of immigrants.
Javid is the first member of an ethnic minority to hold the position, one of the most senior in the British government. He had spoken out forcefully on plight of people from former British colonies who arrived legally in Britain in the 1950s and 60s, but who had struggled to prove their status amid a wider crackdown on illegal immigration.
They became known as the Windrush generation after the name of the ship that brought an early group of Caribbean migrants to Britain in 1948.
It is a significant promotion for Javid, who was previously the Secretary of State for Communities, Local Government and Housing. He voted Remain in the 2016 referendum on British membership of the European Union, and his appointment -- announced by Prime Minister Theresa May in a tweet Monday morning -- maintains the delicate and often uneasy balance between "remainers" and "Brexiters" in the government.
Former Home Secretary Rudd quit the top Cabinet post after admitting she "inadvertently misled" government over targets for the deportation of illegal immigrants.
Rudd had claimed to a parliamentary committee that her department did not impose targets, but the Guardian reported on Sunday that in a private letter to May in 2017, she had informed the Prime Minister that she intended to boost deportations by 10%.
Her position on deportations came against the backdrop of her departments' handling of the "Windrush generation," men and women from the Caribbean who arrived legally in Britain in the 1950s and 60s, but who have struggled to prove their status amid the crackdown on illegal immigration.
Rudd was the fourth high-ranking minister to resign from Prime Minister May's Conservative government in the past six months.
Britain's new Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Britain's new Home Secretary Sajid Javid.
Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd and key ally Prime Minister Theresa May.
Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd and key ally Prime Minister Theresa May.
In an interview with British newspaper The Sunday Telegraph at the weekend, Javid voiced his concern over the scandal, saying one of his first thoughts was, "It could have been me."
"I'm a second-generation migrant. My parents came to this country from Pakistan, just like the Windrush generation," he said, adding that his father worked in a cotton mill and as a bus driver.
"When I heard about the Windrush issue I thought, 'That could be my mum ... it could be my dad ... it could be my uncle ... it could be me.'"
Javid's appointment comes at a delicate time for the embattled Prime Minister, struggling on multiple fronts negotiating Britain's exit from the EU.
Writing in the Telegraph in 2016, Javid said he was a "Eurosceptic and proud of it." But at the same time, ultimately believed "that Britain is better off in (the EU)."
Before entering politics, Javid was managing director at Deutsche Bank, and has previously said staying in the European single market -- the tariff-free common trading area -- was a big factor in his decision to vote remain. He was Business Secretary in the previous government of David Cameron.
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