British Prime Minister Theresa May - (Photo via the BBC)
British Prime Minister Theresa May has defended the government's response to the Windrush scandal and insisted the public supported tough action on immigration.
In what will be seen as a slap-down of her new home secretary, Sajid Javid, the Prime Minister, who has been blamed for the so-called hostile environment policy that contributed to the scandal, refused to back plans to scrap it.
Mrs. May said action was being taken to make sure that no one was mistakenly affected by the immigration policy.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper in Quebec, Canada, where she was attending the G7 summit, the Prime Miniister said members of the public want to know that the authorities are tackling illegal immigration.
Mr. Javid has threatened to move away from Mrs. May's immigration policy and refused to give his full backing for the Prime Minister's pledge to reduce annual net migration to tens of thousands.
Meanwhile, British MP's say the government must urgently set up a hardship fund to help victims of the Windrush scandal who have fallen into financial difficulty.
Members of the Windrush generation, who arrived in the UK from 1948, as well as their children, have been wrongly targeted and in some cases left destitute by the Government's hostile environment policies, which require employers, National Health Services staff, private landlords and other bodies to demand evidence of people's citizenship or immigration status.
The home affairs select committee has called for a hardship fund to be set up after hearing the stories of victims.
The committee has made the move ahead of the conclusion of a broader inquiry into the scandal.
At the end of May, the number of potential Windrush cases reported to the Home Office had passed 5,000.
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