Wednesday, February 12

British Home Secretary resigned within six months delivering reshuffle


 

 

Amber Rudd has become the fifth member to leave cabinet to leave within just six months.

The former Home Secretary quit her job Sunday evening after coming under increasing pressure over the way her department handles immigration.

In a resignation letter to PM Theresa May she admits she inadvertently misled the Home Affairs Select Committee over the issue.

Rudd admitted her department had targets for deportations – something she had previously denied – and that she should have been aware of them.

Her departure also comes 10 months since June’s snap general election where the Conservatives lost their majority in the House of Commons.

The first to leave was Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who resigned his post after being caught up in Westminster sleaze allegations.

One week later, Priti Patel resigned as international development secretary over undisclosed and unauthorised meetings in Israel, including with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

May suffered a third cabinet loss in seven weeks when Damian Green left as First Secretary of State in December.

While serving as Mrs May’s de facto deputy, Mr Green made “misleading” statements about allegations that police found pornography on computers in his parliamentary office in 2008 which breached the ministerial code.

In her resignation letter she expressed great regret at leaving her position, but said: “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.

The Windrush scandal has rightly shone a light on an important issue for our country. As so often, the instincts of the British people are right They want people who have a right to live here to be treated fairly and humanely, which has sometimes not been the case. But they also want the Government to remove those who don’t have the right to be here.