Javid succeeds Rudd as Home Secretary

Javid succeeds Rudd as Home Secretary

Theresa May appointed Sajid Javid as Home Secretary trying to draw a line under an immigration scandal threatening her authority.

Sajid Javid, the son of immigrants from Pakistan, replaces Amber Rudd, who quit as Home Secretary after acknowledging she had "inadvertently misled" parliament by denying the government had targets for the deportation of illegal migrants.

For two weeks, British ministers have been struggling to explain why some descendants of the so-called "Windrush generation", invited to Britain to plug labour shortfalls between 1948 and 1971, had been denied basic rights.

Javid, the first lawmaker from Britain's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community to become interior minister, tried before his appointment to defuse public anger over the scandal by saying his own family could have been caught up in it.

His appointment could change the balance of May's top team in negotiating Britain's departure from the European Union in March 2019.

Rudd was one of the most outspokenly pro-European members of May's cabinet. Javid was a lukewarm campaigner to stay in the bloc and has said the referendum result in 2016 meant that "in some ways, we're all Brexiteers now".

Published: by Radio NewsHub
Start your relationship

If you are interested in receiving bulletins from Radio News Hub or would simply like to find out more please fill in the form below. We operate on annual contracts - spread the cost is available.

We aim to get back to you within 48 hours