David Lammy and Jamaican deportees

[Myohmy111]

David Lammy’s speech, in which he is critical of the government’s decision to deport convicted offenders to Jamaica, was very impassioned. However, it was disingenuous of him to have made the connection between this issue and the Windrush scandal. The two are not the same; the Windrush debacle was a disgrace and involved numbers of innocent individuals being caught up and deported illegally to the Caribbean . Those who were deported today were convicted criminals who served at least 12 months in prison and crucially, they were subject to due process. Unless there is evidence to indicate that other nationals of different ethnicities and races, such as white Australians, have not been subject to the same level of enforcement of this policy , he is wrong to label it as a racist move by the government.

[Cherrysoup]

Any foreign national who commits a crime abroad normally serves their jail term then is deported. It is natural process. If they want to stay, then they shouldn’t have committed a crime. I saw one was done for armed robbery. Why should he be allowed to stay here?

[BritneyPeedOnALadybug]

Well, it’s Labour...
Who think that women are non-men and anyone who doesn’t have colour in their skin is a racist (and those that aren’t racist actually are, but just haven’t realised it yet).

[Ponoka7]

Except we don't seem to deport terrorists, or sex offenders from some countries.

Some of these offences were committed ten years ago. In one case the man hasn't done anything since and has a wife and child. Deporting him will mean she will have to go onto benefits. She is a Nurse and can't do the hours without him as childcare.

It's a bit ironic that we are now looking to countries were rape and violence is legal, so we have no idea of the background of the people who we are letting in, to replace immigration from the EU.

If all of the crimes had been committed recently, I'd agree, but too much time has passed. Plus, as said, we allow Muslim extremists to stay.

Have you read the history of funding of the Manchester bomber?

[looondonn]

DL had a good point and I back him !!

Utter disgrace

[Mrscaindingle]

I was listening to Radio 4 the other day and they interviewed Rupert Smith one of the men due to be deported. He has been living in the UK for nearly 20 years since he was 13 and all his family, including his kids are here.
He served time for an assault and has not reoffended since, I don't doubt there are some "scumbags" on that plane but it seems a very punitive response in this case.

[WalkingDeadTrainee]

Plus, as said, we allow Muslim extremists to stay.
Islamic extremist and terroriss can be British born... As far as I know they majorily actually are. Like Manchester attacker was. Or Choudary.

[maxbabi]

I love lammy and his passion!
Another guy came over when he was 5,sold coke years ago now deported leaving family here.
And all those that use coke think about the sellers hey!!!
It's horrendously unfair when there's so many more crimes going on with no repercussions or little.

[Porcupineinwaiting]

I think if you are going to deport criminals then you should do that directly after their sentence is served. Letting them rebuild their lives, start a family etc then deporting them seems both vicious and pointless.

[Chocpear]

Some of those they wish to deport came to the UK as very young children. I agree with David Lammy.

[Binterested]

I seem to remember a similar argument about the boy who killed Philip Lawrence (headmaster) - he’d come here as a child and to deport him (he was Philippino / Italian) was to deny him his right to family life.

I didn’t have all that much sympathy with his case then but his argument was upheld and he was allowed to stay (he’s been in and out of prison ever since of course).

Not sure why that right would have changed for this group ? Personally I have no issue with deporting them but the law is unclear to me since the right to stay was upheld for this career criminal.

[Ponoka7]

@WalkingDeadTrainee, I know they can be British Born, but that doesn't make you a British citizen. Many hold duel citizenship and flit back for a bit of bomb making and information sharing. Now we know that the Manchester bombers Mother was living in Libya and funding them with her benefit money. The Brother was handing over his Student finance. If we need to get rid of scumbags, these are the people who need to never be allowed back in. As the two recent cases shouldn't have been here.

We are picking and choosing who to be hard on and the decisions aren't helping the ordinary people.

[Myohmy111]

But there’s one thing disagreeing with the policy of deporting those convicted who have been here since a young age; it’s another to imply that the policy is racist. Jamaicans aren’t the only ones in this position and it is irresponsible of him to have made the claim. What we now have is swathes of people joining in with his divisive rhetoric without actually giving it much thought.

There’s enough racism in the UK without him deliberately distorting facts to appear as such.

[Amanduh]

David Lammy is an idiot.

[Chocpear]

According to this article in the Independent, a report commissioned by the government published last July ‘stated the removal of people “who were more British than foreign” was “deeply troubling” and advised that routine deportations of people who had been brought up in the UK should end.
Former prisons ombudsman Stephen Shaw, the author of the report, wrote: “For low-risk offenders, it seems entirely disproportionate to tear them away from their lives, families and friends in the UK, and send them to countries where they may not speak the language or have any ties.”

So it sounds like the Home Office are applying the law in a very harsh manner choosing to deport anyone who has had a prison sentence longer than 12 months regardless of how long they have lived in the UK and the nature of their crime.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/windrush-charter-flight-deported-jamaica-home-office-immigration-caribbean-remove-a8759916.html

[Myohmy111]

David Lammy is an idiot
I wouldn’t go that far. However, he certainly needs to employ more critical thinking when it comes to race. He has a tendency to react purely on an emotional level and thus adopting binary approaches (though his impassioned speech regarding the real Windrush scandal was spot on.)

[SaltLampBae]

Where are these planes full of Australian criminals you're talking about then, OP?

[ginandtonicformeplease]

Why hasn't Rolf Harris been deported? He's still an Australian citizen. David Lammy has a point.

[AlanRickmanFanClub]

I read that one of them was a drug dealer who murdered a woman with a hammer in front of her young child. I say good riddance to bad rubbish.

[SimonJT]

Australians haven’t been subjected to the same policy as Australians in the UK are typically white, where as Jamaicans in the UK are typically black.

I’m pakistani, I was given a ten months suspended for two years when I was nineteen, the judge did say he was going with ten months so I wouldn’t be deported. I was charged and found guilty of ABH, I had pulled someone off a friend who had beaten my friend so badly he had broken ribs, nose and eye socket, the guy fell over and broke his wrist. I am brown, my friend is brown, the man I ‘assaulted’ was white and wealthy. Even before then I didn’t believe justice existed in the UK (or anywhere else) and I still believe that.

[buttermilkwaffles]

@31Binterested

There is some background to the deportation law here, the case you mentioned may precede those changes?
mobile.twitter.com/ColinYeo1/status/1227175934689730560

[NameChangeNugget]

I’ve had to block him on Twitter.

Dreadful man