Windrush scandal : Boris Johnson challenges Theresa May to introduce migrant amnesty

Boris Johnson has challenged Theresa May in Cabinet to introduce an amnesty for illegal immigrants in the wake of the Windrush scandal.

The Foreign Secretary told Cabinet that there needs to be a "broader" amnesty for those from Commonwealth nations and elsewhere, provided they are "squeaky clean" and do not have criminal records.

It comes amid a growing debate in Government over the treatment of migrants in the wake of the Windrush immigration scandal, with Mr Johnson among several Cabinet ministers urging a more liberal approach.

Earlier this week the Government announced an effective amnesty for Windrush migrants who arrived in Britain 1971 after it emerged that they were being threatened with deportation.

Mr Johnson argued that this now needs to be extended to all illegal immigrants who have lived in the UK for more than a decade and not committed crimes, including those from Commonwealth nations such as India, Pakistan, Kenya and Ghana.

It is understood the approach could lead to between 500,000 and 700,000 migrants being given the right to stay permanently in the UK.

A Cabinet source said that Theresa May responded by highlighting previous calls by Mr Johnson for amnesties of illegal immigrants during the EU referendum campaign and when he was Mayor of London.  Mr Johnson and Mrs May have repeatedly clashed over the issue in the past. 

As Mayor of London, Mr Johnson argued that an amnesty was the "humane" thing to do and would increase the amount of tax that the Government collects because people would move away from the black economy.

Mrs May, however, said as Home Secretary that the approach would send the "wrong message", adding that people feel illegal immigration is "very clearly wrong".

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, will today face questions over the status of other Commonwealth migrants when she appears before the Home Affairs select committee.

She is expected to reiterate her desire to put things right and apologise again for the mistakes which led some Windrush migrants to receive deportation letters. 

The Home Office is working to find out if anyone has been forcibly removed from the UK over the scandal by going back through its records which span decades.

It comes amid mounting Cabinet tensions over the Prime Minister's plans for a customs partnership with the EU.  Mrs May was yesterday accused of "burying her head in the sand" after it emerged that the Brexit ‘war cabinet’ will not discuss the customs deal when it meets today.

The issue is instead expected to be debated next week.  Senior Eurosceptics including Mr Johnson, David Davis, Liam Fox and Michael Gove have raised concerns that a customs partnership is "unworkable" and will ultimately lead to a climbdown on Brexit. 

Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of a group of around 60 Eurosceptic Tory MPs, yesterday said that the plans are "cretinous" and represent a "betrayal" of good sense as he suggested the Prime Minister lacks "enthusiasm" for Brexit. The Prime Minister has suggested two options for a future trading relationship with the EU.

The first, a “customs partnership”, would see Britain collect duties for Brussels for goods arriving in the UK but intended for EU markets.

Eurosceptic MPs favour a second “highly streamlined” arrangement, which would use technology to minimise but not eliminate checks on imports.

Asked by The  Telegraph at a House of Commons event if the partnership were acceptable, Mr Rees-Mogg said: “No, no - it is completely cretinous. It is a silly idea. It wouldn’t work, it is impractical, it is bureaucratic, it would mean we are effectively in the single market. It is a betrayal of good sense.

“I can’t understand why the government is faffing around with a system that nobody has looked at to see if it actually work.”

Mr Rees-Mogg also questioned Mrs May’s commitment to Brexit, saying: “The Prime Minister is a very enigmatic figure – she is carrying out the will of the British people but it is hard to read what level of enthusiasm she has for it.”

There were suggestions yesterday that even Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary and head of civil service, thinks a customs partnership is "unworkable".

Mr Rees-Mogg also condemned that peers for amending legislation to take Britain out of the EU, saying “their lordships are playing with fire and it would be a shame to burn down the historic house”. More defeats are expected in the House of Lords today [weds] which to rein in the Government‘s law-making powers and how it creates criminal powers. - The Telegraph