LONDON, April 30 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May is still under pressure despite the announcement of details of a mini reshuffle by the government on Monday.
Amber Rudd resigned Sunday night as home secretary in the wake of Windrush immigration scandal.
Sajid Javid was named by May Monday morning as her new home secretary, the first ethnic person to hold what is one of the government's four great offices of state.
Rudd's departure stems from a chapter that started around 60 years ago when thousands of people from the Caribbean started to arrive in Britain. Known as the Windrush generation, named after the first of many carriers or human cargo to arrive, they were welcomed with open arms to help the country rebuild after World War II.
Fast forward to 2018, however, a government mission to see immigration levels reduced, Windrush generation suddenly found themselves at risk of being deported, even though they had been granted citizenship in the 1970s.
Rudd has paid the price for inadvertently giving wrong information to MPs in the Houses of Parliament.
But May, who has seen Rudd as a closest ally, is still in stormy waters when the opposition is pointing a finger in the direction of May.
Labour's Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: "The change in Home Secretary will mean nothing unless Theresa May's 'hostile environment' policy is finally brought to an end."
She said the new home secretary can not be used as a "human shield" for Theresa May.
Describing May, who was home secretary in David Cameron's government, as "the architect of this crisis", Abbott urged May to step forward to give an immediate, full and honest account of how this inexcusable situation happened on her watch.
It has led to some politicians and political activists to call on May to quit as prime minister, with demands for an inquiry into the Windrush affair.
To offer her support as the stormy waters continued, May's cabinet ministers spent the day rallying around the prime minister.
Campaigning ahead of crucial local elections Thursday, May faced questions about the Windrush scandal.
But she insisted it was right that the government continued to deal with illegal immigration through enforced removals, telling Sky News: "When I was home secretary, yes, there were targets in terms of removing people from the country, who were here illegally." The Guardian reported that May failed to acknowledge her "hostile environment" policy may have also had a severe impact on the Windrush generation, many of whom struggled to prove they were in Britain legally.
Main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn joined the fray, saying Rudd's departure made it even more pressing for May to be brought before parliament to answer questions on the affair.
He said: "Theresa May now has questions to answer about what she actually did as home secretary and what she said."
Whether May's appointment of Javid will be enough to satisfy Windrush campaigners like London Labour MP David Lammy, remains to be seen.
Writing in the Guardian Monday Lammy said the campaign for justice on behalf of the Windrush generation is not just about political scalps.
"It is about a burning injustice that stretches from 10 Downing Street into the lives of thousands of British citizens," Lammy said.
In his first appearance in the House of Commons Monday as the new Home Secretary, Javid told MPs:"I don't want any person who is legally settled here, whether they are from Europe or any other part of the world, to go through the same experience."
Javid said like the Caribbean Windrush generation, his parents came to Britain in the 1960s to help rebuild this country and offer all that they had.
"When I heard that people who were long-standing pillars of their community were being impacted for simply not having the right documents to prove their legal status in the UK, I thought that it could be my mum, my brother, my uncle or even me."
"That's why I am so personally committed to and invested in resolving the difficulties faced by the people of the Windrush generation who have built their lives here and contributed so much."
