Sajid Javid has been appointed as home secretary, replacing Amber Rudd who resigned after repeatedly struggling to account for her role in the unjust treatment of Windrush-generation migrants.

Theresa May announced Javid’s appointment on Monday morning, installing the communities secretary to the Home Office where his first job will be to deal with the ongoing immigration debacle.

He is the first BAME politician to hold the role and his appointment could offer some hope to critics that the government is aware of how damaging the issue has been for community relations and trust in the immigration system.

The home secretary, whose parents emigrated from Pakistan in the 1960s, spoke at the weekend about his initial reaction to news of the treatment of Windrush-generation migrants. “I thought that could be my mum … my dad … my uncle … it could be me,” he said.

Javid, 48, said he recognised the scandal could cause concern among ethnic minority voters but issued a plea to those who were wavering to look at the government’s attempts to “put things right”.

The Home Office, one of the major offices of state, is a notoriously difficult department to run, with many secretaries having been forced to quit as a result of errors.

Dealing with the Windrush crisis, as well as the underlying problems around immigration, will be top of Javid’s inbox. However, tackling rising knife crime, fighting to justify policing cuts and handling the ongoing terrorism threat are all key issues.

A Downing Street statement said: “The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP as secretary of state for the home department.”

James Brokenshire, the former Northern Ireland secretary who stood down in January to have a tumour removed from his lung, was moved to Javid’s old job as housing, communities and local government secretary.



The return of the key loyalist, who was a Home Office minister throughout May’s six-year tenure there, was a predictable move from the prime minister, who is said to feel the need to bolster her fragile position with supportive allies.



The international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, takes on the additional role of minister for equalities.

In appointing Javid, May has attempted to maintain the delicate balance in her cabinet between remainers and Brexiters, which is particularly important because the home secretary sits on the Brexit “war cabinet” which meets this week.

While Rudd was a clear advocate of staying in the European Union, within days of the referendum Javid, who had campaigned to remain, insisted the result must be respected. And while his predecessor was a strong voice around the cabinet table for staying in the customs union, the new home secretary has made clear he is sceptical of softer Brexit options.

Javid, a George Osborne protege just like Rudd, was previously a minister in the Treasury. His first cabinet appointment came in 2014 as culture secretary. The former investment banker has also served as business secretary. 



His 18 months running the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been dominated by the fallout from the fatal Grenfell Tower fire, and pressing for more house building despite resistance from the Treasury.



Ministers moved swiftly to rally round May on Monday, insisting Rudd only stood down because she inadvertently misled MPs, not because of the wider Windrush migration scandal.



Rudd was forced to step down after a series of revelations in the Guardian about problems faced by Windrush-generation residents, which culminated in a leak on Friday that appeared to show she was aware of targets for removing people who were in the country illegally.

The pressure increased on Sunday afternoon as the Guardian revealed that in a leaked 2017 letter to May, Rudd had told the prime minister of her intention to increase deportations by 10% – seemingly at odds with her recent denials that she was aware of deportation targets.

Rudd was facing a bruising appearance in the House of Commons on Monday, which government insiders suggested she was keen to avoid. </s> London—Pakistani-origin MP Sajid Javid was today appointed as Britain's new Home Secretary, hours after his predecessor Amber Rudd resigned after admitting that she had "inadvertently misled" Parliament over the existence of deportation targets for immigrants.

Javid, the son of a Pakistani bus driver whose family migrated to Britain in the 1960s, was promoted from his Cabinet post of Communities, Local Government and Housing minister.

The 48-year-old former investment banker becomes the first South Asian origin MP to hold the key portfolio in the UK Cabinet.

He is the Conservative party MP for Bromsgrove and has previously held business and culture portfolios in the UK government.

"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of...Sajid Javid MP as secretary of state for the home department," a Downing Street statement said.

His appointment is widely seen as a way for British Prime Minister Theresa May to curtail the backlash from the so-called Windrush scandal, which brought to light the unfair treatment of Commonwealth citizens from Jamaica over a lack of citizenship documentation.

"I was really concerned when I first started hearing and reading about some of the issues. It immediately impacted me. I'm a second-generation migrant. My parents came to this country... just like the Windrush generation," Javid wrote in 'The Sunday Telegraph'.

"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," he added.

James Brokenshire, the former Northern Ireland secretary who stood down in January due to health reasons to have a tumour removed from his lung, has been moved into Javid's old job as Housing, Communities and Local Government secretary.

UK international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, takes on the additional role of minister for equalities.

The resignation of 52-year-old Rudd, a key ally of May, followed weeks of pressure ever since her statement to the Parliament's Home Affairs Select Committee denying knowledge of any targets to remove illegal migrants from the UK.

Leaked memos and letters in the media seemed to contradict her claims, resulting in her decision to step down.

The furor has grown since The Guardian reported that some people who came to the UK from the Caribbean in the decades after World War II had recently been refused medical care in Britain or threatened with deportation because they could not produce paperwork proving their right to reside in the country.

Those affected belong to the Windrush generation, named for the ship Empire Windrush, which in 1948 brought hundreds of Caribbean immigrants to Britain to help it rebuild after the devastation of World War II.

In recent weeks, Rudd and May have apologised repeatedly to the Windrush generation, saying all pre-1973 Commonwealth immigrants who don't already have British citizenship will get it, and those affected will get compensation.

Rudd said she took "full responsibility" for the fact that she was not aware of "information provided to (her) office which makes mention of targets".

She telephoned May to tell her of her decision, but in a letter that officially marked it she wrote: "It is with great regret that I am resigning as home secretary.

"I feel it is necessary to do so because I inadvertently misled the Home Affairs Select Committee over targets for removal of illegal immigrants during their questions on Windrush."

May said she understood why Rudd was stepping down and confirmed she had read her letter, adding: "I was very sorry to receive it."

The prime minister said she believed Rudd had given her evidence to the House of Commons "in good faith" but that she understood her decision to resign and take "responsibility for inadvertently misleading the home affairs select committee".

Rudd's resignation may weaken Prime Minister Theresa May's government. The prime minister doesn't have a majority in the UK parliament and is struggling with Brexit negotiations.

Since May lost her parliamentary majority in elections last June, her leadership has often been under question, and she has already suffered three prior cabinet resignations.

Rudd became the fourth person forced to resign from the UK Cabinet in the last six months following former defence minister Sir Michael Fallon, former international development minister Priti Patel and May's deputy Damian Green.

The latest resignation comes just days before local council elections in Britain, due to be held on May 3, during which the Opposition parties will hope to capitalise on some of the upheaval in government. </s> The new Home Secretary Sajid Javid has been called to the House of Commons to answer an Urgent Question on the Windrush scandal .

It comes after Theresa May refused three times to answer questions over whether she should resign over the fiasco which has seen members of that cohort denied medical treatment and benefits.

The rattled Prime Minister desperately tried to apply life support to her “decomposing” Government following Amber Rudd's dramatic resignation by replacing her with Sajid Javid.

He is the first BAME holder of the post in its history. But as the focus swiftly moved from Ms Rudd to Mrs May, the PM dodged repeated questions on whether she should take responsibility for the Windrush fiasco.

Speaking to reporters during a local elections visit to 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.

Instead, she simply 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."

Mrs May also defended targets for the removal of illegal immigrants as she confirmed the practice was in place when she was Home Secretary. Jeremy Corbyn insisted Mrs May had "questions to answer" about her time in the Home Office - saying Ms Rudd had been the "human shield" for the Prime Minister.

The Labour leader said Mrs May "now has questions to answer" about "what she actually did as home secretary".

"She was presiding over, in her terms, the creation of a hostile environment," he added.

Mrs May later ducked further scrutiny by sending new Home Secretary Mr Javid to the Commons to answer an urgent question on the Windrush scandal from Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.

Earlier, senior Labour figures and even some Tories today said Mrs May’s administration was now effectively dying. Ex-Tory Chancellor George Osborne swiped: “The Government just got a bit less human.”

And Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the Government was “in terminal disarray”, adding: “You can smell the undoubted odour of a government decomposing.” </s> • Sajid Javid was eliminated from the race to replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.
• The home secretary fell out in the fourth round of voting after losing support from Conservative MPs.
• The race for second place behind Boris Johnson is now between Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove.

LONDON – Sajid Javid has been eliminated from the race to replace Theresa May as Conservative Party leader and prime minister.

The home secretary received fewer votes than his three rivals in a secret ballot on Thursday morning, with support consolidating around Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove, the two candidates who colleagues believe are best-placed to take on Boris Johnson in the final two.

Boris Johnson once again topped the poll, winning 157 votes from Conservative MPs, while Michael Gove jumped into sceond place with 61 votes. Hunt, who placed second in the first three rounds of voting, placed third with 59 votes.

Two of the votes were spoilt ballots.

A fourth and final round of voting will take place on Thursday evening, where the third-placed candidate will be knocked out. The result is due at around 18.15 GMT.

One from the remaining two candidates will then be selected as the next Conservative leader in July by the party’s 160,000-or-so members.

The winner will be announced on July 22.

Javid, who was seen as an outsider in the leadership race, played a prominent role in the contest, winning plaudits for making all other candidates agree to hold an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the party if they become prime minister.

He was appointed as Home Secretary in 2018, and has also served as Business Secretary and Culture Secretary. </s> LONDON -- British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday appointed the first ethnic-minority politician to the key post of home secretary, as the government struggled to contain a scandal over the mistreatment of long-term residents from the Caribbean. Lawmaker Sajid Javid replaced Amber Rudd, who resigned late Sunday, saying she had "inadvertently" misled lawmakers about whether the government had deportation targets.

The "Windrush" scandal has dominated headlines in Britain for days and sparked intense criticism of the Conservative government's tough immigration policies.

The furor began when the Guardian newspaper reported that some people from the Caribbean who have lived in Britain for decades had been refused medical care or threatened with deportation because they could not produce paperwork proving their right to reside in the country.

Outrage at their treatment has piled pressure on May, who was home secretary between 2010 and 2016 and introduced tough immigration policies intended to make Britain a "hostile environment" for unauthorized migrants.

Javid on Monday said his most urgent task was "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."

Javid, the son of Pakistani immigrants, is the first politician from an ethnic minority to hold one of the four top jobs in Britain's government - prime minister, finance minister, foreign secretary and home secretary.

Immigration is a divisive issue in Britain, and reducing the number of newcomers was a major factor for many voters who in 2016 backed leaving the European Union. The Conservative government has an oft-stated but long-unmet goal of reducing net immigration below 100,000 people a year, less than half the current level.

The current furor involves members of the "Windrush generation," named for the ship Empire Windrush, which in 1948 brought hundreds of Caribbean immigrants to a Britain seeking nurses, railway workers and others to help it rebuild after the devastation of World War II.

They and subsequent Caribbean migrants came from British colonies or ex-colonies and had an automatic right to settle in the U.K. But some have now been denied housing, jobs or medical treatment because of requirements that employers and doctors check people's immigration status. Others have been told by the government that they are in Britain illegally and must leave.

"That could be me," Javid told the Sunday Telegraph.

In recent weeks Rudd and May have apologized repeatedly, saying that all pre-1973 Commonwealth immigrants who don't already have British citizenship will get it and those affected will get compensation.

But Rudd's position worsened after she told lawmakers last week that the government did not have targets for deporting people - only for a 2017 memo to emerge that mentioned specific targets for "enforced removals."

Rudd said she didn't see the memo, but The Guardian later published a leaked letter she wrote to the prime minister discussing an aim of increasing removals by 10 percent.

In a resignation letter to the prime minister, Rudd said she had "inadvertently" misled lawmakers. May said she accepted that Rudd had spoken "in good faith" and was sorry to see her resign.

The Windrush scandal is also causing anxiety for the 3 million European Union citizens living in Britain who are concerned about their immigration status after the country leaves the EU next March. The British government says they will be allowed to stay.

May's office said Javid's former job, communities secretary, would be filled by James Brokenshire, a former secretary of state for Northern Ireland. </s> Amber Rudd has resigned as home secretary after repeatedly struggling to explain her role in the unjust treatment of Windrush generation migrants.

The home secretary had faced mounting pressure over her role in setting the culture and policies that led to long-term residents of Britain from Caribbean countries being denied healthcare, pensions and benefits and in some cases being threatened with deportation.

Rudd had been due to appear before parliament on Monday to explain apparent discrepancies between her evidence to the home affairs select committee last week and a memo leaked to the Guardian that linked her to targets for removing migrants.

Challenged repeatedly about such targets by Labour MP Yvette Cooper at the home affairs select committee, Rudd had insisted: “That’s not how we operate.”

Downing Street sources said that in preparing for her Commons statement on Monday, new information had become available that convinced her she must resign. However, they continued to insist that the “ambition” for a 10% increase in removals mentioned in a separate leaked letter was not a formal target.

Rudd spoke to the prime minister by telephone on Sunday evening to tender her resignation. </s> Rory Stewart said he was “never confident” but “always hopeful” as he battled to remain in the contest to be the next prime minister.

As Tory MPs vote for the second time, candidates need to secure 33 votes to survive, and Mr Stewart said he believed he had that number “if everybody does what they say”.

International Development Secretary Mr Stewart, who managed just 19 votes last week, and Home Secretary Sajid Javid, who got 23, were locked in a fight to reach the threshold.

Mr Javid said he was “quietly confident” of making it through, adding that he was “looking forward to the debate this evening” – the remaining candidates will appear on the BBC at 8pm.

The Home Secretary, the state educated son of a bus driver, urged colleagues to back him to prevent the contest looking like “a debate at the Oxford Union”.

Mr Javid, the only candidate left in the race not to have gone to Oxford University, said it would not be “healthy” for the party if all the candidates left in the contest had similar backgrounds.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If we end up in a situation where the final two, three, four even, are people from similar backgrounds with similar life experiences, it will look like a debate at the Oxford Union and I just don’t think that’s healthy for the Tory Party.”

The Home Secretary joked that his style was “less Homer’s Iliad and more Homer Simpson”.

In a sign that the contest is becoming more personal, a former aide to Mr Javid claimed Mr Stewart’s supporters were targeting the Home Secretary’s backers “urging them to vote for Rory so we can offer ‘something different’ in final two”.

Further votes on Wednesday and Thursday will see two candidates selected for the final ballot of Tory members, with frontrunner Boris Johnson almost certain to be one of them.

On Twitter, Mr Javid’s ex-special adviser Nick King added: “Saj’s dad was an immigrant. Saj went to his local comp and an FE College. Rory went to Eton and Balliol just like Boris.”

Mr Stewart, who has been forced to deny allegations that he had been a spy for MI6, suggested the claims about his background were the result of a rival “getting a bit rattled”.

His campaign has gathered momentum and won the backing of de facto deputy prime minister David Lidington, but he faces a difficult task to overhaul the vote tallies of rivals.

Mr Johnson, the clear winner in the first round of voting, will face his first televised showdown of the campaign when he appears at the BBC debate later.

He has secured even more pledges of support – including former leadership rival Andrea Leadsom – since winning 114 votes last week.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Environment Secretary Michael Gove were the only other candidates to secure more than 33 votes in the first round.

Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab, who got 27 votes, said he too was now “quietly” confident of reaching 33.

In a new campaign video, Mr Raab said his love of karate and boxing had “been pretty good in terms of preparing me for other big moments”.

He highlighted the importance of education, saying “everyone should have the opportunity to go as far as their talents can take them”.

Mrs Leadsom gave her backing to Mr Johnson on Tuesday morning, telling LBC he was the “best placed to get us out of the EU at the end of October” and an “election winner”.

Meanwhile, Mr Gove, who came third in the first ballot with 37 votes, used a Times article to say the final two candidates should “believe in Brexit” and be able to deliver it and unite the Tory party.

In an apparent reference to Mr Johnson and Mr Stewart, he said: “It would be a mistake to put forward two candidates to the final round who will polarise our party.” </s> Amber Rudd is back in cabinet as the new work and pensions secretary after Esther McVey resigned yesterday, according to Downing Street.

Former home secretary Rudd is set to replace McVey after she walked out in protest over Theresa May’s Brexit agreement.

Downing Street said: ‘The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP to be Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’.

Rudd stepped down as home secretary in April over her handling of the Windrush generation scandal.

She had faced growing pressure to resign amid claims she misled parliament over targets for removing illegal migrants.

Mcvey quit in response to the EU withdrawal plan agreed by UK and EU negotiators.

In a resignation letter, McVey wrote: ‘The deal you put before the cabinet yesterday does not honour the result of the referendum.

‘Indeed, it doesn’t meet the tests you set from the outset of your premiership.’

She added: ‘It threatens the integrity of the United Kingdom, which as a unionist is a risk I cannot be party to.’

Rudd is the sixth work and pensions secretary.

This is a breaking new story… more to follow </s> Theresa May has defended targets for the removal of illegal immigrants as she confirmed the practice was in place when she was home secretary.

Members of the public want the Government to deal with people who have no right to be in the country, the Prime Minister insisted.

But Jeremy Corbyn insisted Mrs May had “questions to answer” about her time in the Home Office.

Mrs May made Sajid Javid Home Secretary after Amber Rudd quit, admitting she “inadvertently” misled MPs over Government targets for removing illegal migrants.

During a local election campaign visit to Greater Manchester, Mrs May said: “When I was home secretary, yes, there were targets in terms of removing people from the country who were here illegally.

“This is important. If you talk to members of the public they want to ensure that we are dealing with people who are here illegally.”

Mr Corbyn said Ms Rudd had been the “human shield” for the Prime Minister.

The Labour leader said Mrs May “now has questions to answer” about “what she actually did as home secretary”.

“She was presiding over, in her terms, the creation of a hostile environment,” he said.

As well as the row over targets on migrant removals, Ms Rudd had also been battling intense criticism over the Windrush scandal, which has seen people from a Caribbean background denied access to benefits and healthcare or threatened with deportation despite decades of residence in the UK.

She became the fifth enforced departure from the Cabinet since last year’s snap general election and stepped down the evening before she was due to make a statement in the House of Commons.

Mr Javid vowed to make sure people caught up in the Windrush fiasco are treated with “decency and fairness” as he arrived at the Home Office to take up his new job.

The former investment banker was given the job during a telephone call with Mrs May and becomes the first person from an ethnic minority background to hold one of the four great offices of state.

He said: “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.”

He was replaced as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government by former Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire, who has recently returned to Westminster after treatment for cancer.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt takes on Ms Rudd’s former responsibilities as Minister for Women and Equalities.

Culture Secretary Matt Hancock hailed him as “a serious political thinker who gets things done” while Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss described him as “effective, no-nonsense and brave”.
Sajid Javid becomes the United Kingdom's Home Secretary following the resignation of Amber Rudd over the Windrush scandal. He is the first Home Secretary from an ethnic minority background.