London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Feb 08, 2026

Jamaican diplomat criticises Home Office over deportation flight

Jamaican diplomat criticises Home Office over deportation flight

Up to 50 Jamaicans, some of whom came to UK as children, are due to be on flight next week
Jamaica’s top diplomat in the UK has said he is “deeply concerned” about Home Office plans to send people who came to the country as children back to the Caribbean island on a deportation flight next week.

Deportation flights to Jamaica raise particular concerns because of the Windrush scandal. Although the Home Office says nobody from the Windrush generation will be on next week’s flight, some due to fly have Windrush family connections and many have lived a substantial part of their childhoods in the UK, including one person who arrived when he was three months old.

Seth Ramocan, Jamaica’s high commissioner in London, said: “From a human rights perspective I am deeply concerned about cases in which persons are being removed having lived in the UK since childhood and have no known relations in Jamaica or familiarity with Jamaica. There are clear examples of these cases and I implore the Home Office to give due consideration to this concern.”

Up to 50 Jamaicans are due to board next week’s flight, although it is understood that the Home Office expects the final number to be much lower than that.

A survey carried out by Movement for Justice of 17 Jamaicans detained in preparation for the flight found that 10 of them have lived in the UK since childhood. One man came to the UK 31 years ago at the age of nine and was raised by his Windrush-generation aunt after his mother’s death in Jamaica.

At least 24 British children are facing separation from their fathers as a result of the deportations.

Before another Jamaica charter in December 2020, a deal was quietly agreed between the Home Office and the Jamaica high commission not to put people on the plane who had come to the UK at the age of 12 or under, but a similar agreement does not appear to be in place this time.

A report from the former prisons ombudsman Stephen Shaw in 2018 called for an end to the deportation of people who have lived in the UK since childhood.

The Home Office is planning to deport people with no criminal convictions who have overstayed visas. However, the Guardian knows of three people in detention in this position who have had their removal directions deferred in the past 24 hours.

Karen Doyle, of Movement for Justice, said: “The past two Jamaica charter flights have not had anyone on them who arrived in the UK at the age of 12 or under. If you are born here, raised here, schooled here, you shouldn’t be sent to a country you no longer know. It’s a travesty and an injustice.”

Bella Sankey, the director of Detention Action, said: “The Home Office has spent Black History Month planning a mass expulsion of black British residents. This government’s current citizenship and deportation laws build on colonial injustices and are inhumane. Until they are brought in line with basic human decency, airlines should refuse to collaborate.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Those who have no right to be here and foreign-national offenders should be in no doubt that we will do whatever is necessary to remove them. This is what the public rightly expects and why we regularly operate flights to different countries.

“Extensive checks have taken place to ensure no one being removed is a British citizen or eligible for the Windrush scheme. People are only removed to their country of origin when it is deemed safe to do so.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Confirms Imminent Increase in ETA Fee to £20 as Entry Rules Tighten
UK Signals Possible Seizure of Russia-Linked ‘Shadow Fleet’ Tanker in Escalation of Sanctions Enforcement
Epstein Scandal Piles Unprecedented Pressure on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Leadership
UK’s ‘Most Romantic Village’ Celebrates Valentine’s Day and Explores the Festival’s Rich History
The Implications of Expanding Voting Rights to Non-EU Foreign Residents in France
Ghislaine Maxwell to Testify Before US Congress on February 9
Al.com Acquired by Crypto.com Founder for $70 Million
Apple iPhone Lockdown Mode blocks FBI data access in journalist device seizure
Belgium: Man Charged with Rape After Faking Payment to Sex Worker
KPMG Urges Auditor to Relay AI Cost Savings
US and Iran to Begin Nuclear Talks in Oman
Winklevoss-Led Gemini to Slash a Quarter of Jobs and Exit European and Australian Markets
Canada Opens First Consulate in Greenland Amid Rising Geopolitical Tensions
China unveils plans for a 'Death Star' capable of launching missile strikes from space
NASA allows astronauts to take smartphones on upcoming missions to capture special moments.
Trump administration to launch TrumpRx.gov for direct drug purchases
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
U.S. State Department Issues Urgent Travel Warning for Citizens to Leave Iran Immediately
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Epstein Case Documents Reignite Global Scrutiny of Political and Business Elites
Eighty-one-year-old man in the United States fatally shoots Uber driver after scam threat
UK Royal Family Faces Intensifying Strain as Epstein-Linked Revelations Rock the Institution
Political Censorship: French Prosecutors Raid Musk’s X Offices in Paris
AI Invented “Hot Springs” — Tourists Arrived and Were Shocked
Tech Mega-Donors Power Trump-Aligned Fundraising Surge to $429 Million Ahead of 2026 Midterms
UK Pharma Watchdog Rules Sanofi Breached Industry Code With RSV Vaccine Claims Against Pfizer
Melania Documentary Opens Modestly in UK with Mixed Global Box Office Performance
Starmer Arrives in Shanghai to Promote British Trade and Investment
Harry Styles, Anthony Joshua and Premier League Stars Among UK’s Top Taxpayers
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
Skupski and Harrison Clinch Australian Open Men’s Doubles Title in Melbourne
DOJ Unveils Millions of Epstein Files, Fueling Global Scrutiny of Elite Networks
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
×