50th Anniversary of the Expulsion of Asians from Uganda

Lord Murray of Blidworth Excerpts

Thursday 27th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Murray of Blidworth) (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Popat for securing this important debate, and all noble Lords for their truly inspiring contributions. As the noble Lord, Lord Bach, noted, the number of noble Lords contributing today itself demonstrates the importance of this topic. I also thank the noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord Collins, for welcoming me to my place. I look forward to debating the wider immigration issues, to which they referred, in the weeks and months to come.

Noble Lords will know that this debate was postponed from around the 50th anniversary of the first Ugandan Asians arriving in the UK, following the death of Her late Majesty the Queen, but I am glad that we have had chance to recognise this, and it feels just as apt during the week of Diwali.

As my noble friend Lord Popat reflected, I pay tribute to the late Lord Sheik, raised in Uganda before coming to the United Kingdom in 1962, who spoke so movingly in 2012 about his own family’s history in Uganda and of friends who came following the expulsion in 1972. He is a much-missed colleague, and all our thoughts are with his friends and family. I also pay tribute to those who came before me in this and the other place who paved the way for future generations, which has led us to having the UK’s first Prime Minister of not only Indian but east African descent.

My noble friend Lord Popat is right to highlight our positive relationship with Uganda, and I welcome the high commissioner to the House today. The UK and Uganda have a close relationship. We want Uganda to become more democratic, prosperous and resilient, with reduced poverty, and to continue to play a positive international and regional role. That is why UK aid supports the most vulnerable in Uganda, by creating jobs and helping to meet urgent health and education needs.

The noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, was right to reference the recent Ugandan successes. As has been raised today, 50 years ago we were in a very different place. In August 1972, 60,000 people of Asian origin were given just 90 days to leave their homes and their businesses in Uganda, after a decree issued by the then President of Uganda, Idi Amin. As has been said, remarkably, the UK Government expressed extreme distress with this course and, as a consequence of the real concern, Edward Heath’s Administration determined to resolve this by taking the steps upon which Your Lordships have commented today.

My noble friends Lord Popat and Lord Hunt both reflected on the inspiring, brilliant and honourable speeches and decisions by Prime Minister Heath and Home Secretary Carr. I was delighted to hear, in his elegant speech, about my noble friend Lord Hunt’s actions as a young Conservative in 1972. That is an inspiration to all Conservatives.

Preparations began in the UK to receive Ugandan Asians who had British passports. By 18 September 1972, the first 193 British Asians from Uganda had arrived at Stansted Airport. Just two months later, by 17 November, more than 27,000 Ugandan Asians had arrived and, in the first year between 1972 and 1973, a total of 38,500 Ugandan Asians were welcomed by Britain.

The United Kingdom acted swiftly and administered 16 temporary resettlement centres, in which approximately 22,000 people were accommodated for varying periods until they were supported to find permanent accommodation. The centres paid particular attention to the teaching of English and the provision of guidance about the British way of life. Just three months after the refugees had begun arriving, 1,000 employers had offered jobs to the newcomers.

As we mark 50 years since the expulsion of the Ugandan Asians, we reflect on their enormous contribution to this country, whether in politics, business or other aspects of society. We have heard many examples today, from the Golden Mile of Leicester to Clapham, but I am also struck by the challenges faced by those who arrived here, who were subject to disgraceful racist abuse and attacks. I admire the bravery and resilience they have shown.

Ten years ago, my noble friend Baroness Warsi spoke about the Government’s approach to integration following the successful arrival of British Ugandan Asians. In the 10 years since, a number of significant events have led to people seeking refuge in the United Kingdom, including from the conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Indeed, I know that the cottage in Lambeth Palace, spoken of by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Southwark, has been used in more recent years to house Syrian refugees.

The UK has a proud history of providing protection to those who need it. The noble Lord, Lord Desai, is right to refer to that history as a success. Similar to our approach 50 years ago, we are committed to ensuring that anyone arriving through humanitarian routes can take positive steps towards integration as they rebuild their lives in the UK and, in so doing—we hope—emulate the experience of my noble friend Lord Popat and other Ugandan Asians.

Fifty years ago, when Ugandan Asians arrived in the UK, they were given support and advice on housing and employment, as well as access to healthcare, social security and education systems. In the present day, those resettled in the UK via safe and legal routes have access to mainstream benefits and services to enable their integration. We are working across government to ensure that these services meet the needs of refugees. Those arriving under one of the UK’s resettlement schemes have immediate access to the labour market and to benefits. The noble Lord, Lord Purvis, is right to reflect on the parallels in relation to providing accommodation. We continue to seek assistance from local authorities across the UK to provide housing for those we resettle here.

The noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, and the noble Baroness, Lady Warwick, referred to the labour market and asked about the shortage occupation list. We continue to work closely with the Migration Advisory Council on the occupations on that list.

Those arriving for our schemes for Hong Kongers and Ukrainians—for whom the Government opened schemes as expediently as those the late Lord Carr and his colleagues did in 1972, to which the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, referred—have also had access across the labour market. I acknowledge the points of the noble Lord, Lord Collins, about the delays in providing visas, but I am proud that over 140,000 Ukrainians have arrived here since we opened the schemes just seven months ago, many being taken into the family homes of generous UK residents, just as the family of the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, did 50 years ago.

We recognise that language is key to helping refugees integrate into life in the UK, as well as to breaking down barriers to work and career progression. In 1972, steps were taken to ensure that communications were written in Gujarati and in English. Today, we provide assistance to ensure that mainstream English language provision meets the needs of refugees. Our integration packages have a strong focus on supporting refugees to move more quickly to self-sufficiency.

I pay tribute to my noble friend Lord Harrington, who served the Government with great energy in his time as Minister for Refugees. He understands that collaboration with civil society, businesses and local authorities will continue to be the key to achieving our goals on refugee integration. We will ensure our approach is informed by the experiences of refugees.

In closing, I thank my noble friend Lord Popat, once more for securing this most moving and inspiring debate. It is right that we reflect on what happened 50 years ago and, as we do so, it is also right that we celebrate the huge contribution that the British Ugandan Asian community has made, and continues to make, to our society.

Republic of Ireland: British Passports

Lord Murray of Blidworth Excerpts

Wednesday 26th October 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Murray of Blidworth) (Con) (Maiden Speech)]

My Lords, it is a great honour to be here to make the final contribution to this short debate today, and I thank you all for your kind words of welcome. As the newly appointed—and, I hope, as the noble Lord, Lord Rogan, has noted, remaining—Lords Minister of State in the Home Office, it falls to me to respond on behalf of His Majesty’s Government to this interesting debate. As your Lordships have all noted, this also happens to be my maiden speech.

First, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hay of Ballyore, for tabling this Question for Short Debate. I am aware that this is an issue of personal relevance for the noble Lord and for many, and one about which, clearly, he and many others feel strongly.

If I may, I will now turn to the customary part of a maiden speech. I must thank noble Lords for the great welcome they have given me in this place, particularly my supporters, my noble friends Lord Sandhurst and Lord Sharpe of Epsom—the latter being my fellow Home Office Minister. I also thank Black Rod, the clerks, and especially the doorkeepers. Needless to say, I am very grateful to my wife Amelia, and my children Matilda and Archie, who have been very supportive of my sudden change of career, notwithstanding that this means that I am not on hand as often at Blidworth, in the County of Nottinghamshire, to help with their homework.

As a lifelong member of the voluntary party, I was until 7 October proud to serve as the Conservative Party’s East Midlands regional chairman and as deputy leader of the Conservative group on Gedling Borough Council, as the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, has observed. I would like to thank all the hard-working Conservative volunteers for their help through the years and for their support.

It is with some trepidation that I come before your Lordships’ House. My professional background is as a barrister specialising in public law and human rights, and I have had the honour to have been led by some truly learned and impressive legal Members of your Lordships’ House: notably, my noble friend Lord Sandhurst, who led me in the very lengthy Kenyan emergency group litigation, which was one of the longest running civil trials in England; the noble Lord, Lord Faulks, who led me in a number of cases, notably one before the Supreme Court which concerned the assessment of damages for the violations of Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights; and the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, who led me in an important case concerning the imposition of “Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation” notices and more recently in the litigation in relation to the memoranda between His Majesty’s Government and the Government of Rwanda, in which case the judgment is still awaited.

Having worked with these three noble Lords, I am sure your Lordships can now appreciate the trepidation to which I referred earlier. I shall be responsible in particular for the conduct of Home Office business before your Lordships’ House concerning migration and borders. This is a matter of special interest to me, not least since litigation concerning these issues has formed a significant part of my legal practice for the last 15 years, but also because it is one of the most difficult and sensitive areas of policy-making.

One pertinent family matter which I should perhaps mention in connection with this debate, is that, as with the noble Lord, Lord Hay, my mother is a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, having been born in County Cork.

That brings me neatly to the question before the House today. In summary, the answer comes in three parts. First, given the long history of these two islands and the close relationship between the Government of Ireland and His Majesty’s Government, Irish citizens have a special status in all of the United Kingdom. An Irish citizen residing in the United Kingdom is treated in the same way as a British national, even including, as the noble Lord demonstrates, in relation to entitlement to membership of this House.

Secondly, it is of course open to those of more than five years’ residence within the United Kingdom, such as the noble Lord, to apply for naturalisation as a British citizen should they wish. Thirdly, the present entitlements to nationality are compliant with the provisions of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, which provides that British nationality may be available for certain people born in Northern Ireland and not more broadly. By way of amplification, British citizens are defined by the British Nationality Act 1981. Only they are entitled to hold a British citizen passport as a matter of statute. This has been the case since the change of law in 1949, as the noble Lord, Lord Hay, referred to. The Government have no plans to reverse this position.

Article 1(vi) of the Belfast agreement states that it is the birthright of all people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British—or both, as they may so choose—and separately confirms that both Governments recognise that the people of Northern Ireland are able to hold British and Irish nationality. That agreement is very clear in its definition of “the people of Northern Ireland”. It defines them as

“all persons born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British citizen, an Irish citizen or is otherwise entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence.”

People born in Ireland and living in Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK are consequently not deemed to be “people of Northern Ireland” for the purposes of that agreement, and they do not benefit from the agreement’s important birthright provisions on identity and citizenship. Turning to the point raised by the noble Lord, Lord Rogan, it is important to note that the birthrights on how a person of Northern Ireland chooses to self-identify and their citizenship are quite rightly separate and distinct.

The noble Lord, Lord Browne of Belmont, raised a point on the interpretation of the Belfast agreement. As noble Lords are well aware, the Belfast agreement was carefully negotiated and accepted in referenda in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There are no plans to reopen it to change the definition of a “person of Northern Ireland”; nor indeed would the UK Government be able to amend an international treaty. Not meeting the definition of a “person of Northern Ireland” under the agreement does not mean, however, that you cannot get British citizenship.

As noble Lords across the House have noted, there is already a residence-based route which Irish citizens born after 1 January 1949 can utilise to become British citizens should they choose to do so: they can, of course, apply to naturalise. When naturalising, an applicant need show only five years’ lawful residence. This is of course a fraction of the period that the noble Lord, Lord Hay, has been resident in Northern Ireland. If an individual opts not to become a British citizen when they first become eligible to do so, and so resides in the UK for far longer than the minimum time period needed, they will still need to meet the same statutory requirements as any other applicant. This is fair and applies to applicants of any nationality. The noble Lord, Lord Hay, noted that the process was, in his view, discriminatory. I do not accept that, because it is important when considering naturalisation that everyone is treated the same. Many people across the union of the United Kingdom have lived here for a long time and paid taxes, and there is no particular reason why they should be treated differently from those the noble Lord suggests should be.

Turning to the question of fees, fees for naturalisation have remained static in recent years. This followed a period of increases imposed as part of the Home Office’s move towards a user-pays model. Irish nationals are considered as settled in the UK from their date of arrival, which gives them an advantage over applicants of other nationalities, who need to hold indefinite leave to remain under the Immigration Rules before they can apply to naturalise. Irish nationals do not, therefore, have to pay ILR fees, which amount to £2,404 on some routes to indefinite leave to remain. On the point from the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, about the breakdown of fees in respect of the cost of actually processing the application, I do not have that information to hand, and I will ensure that he is written to.

Turning to the knowledge of language and life in the UK test, mentioned by the noble Lords, Lord Hay and Lord Rogan, individuals applying to naturalise across the piece are required to meet the Life in the UK test. A special provision, unsurprisingly, means that Irish nationals are exempt from the requirement to prove English language competency.

The Government’s view is that it is fair that all those who choose to take the step of becoming British citizens should meet the same core criteria, so citizenship can be awarded consistently. Citizenship carries important personal and legal consequences, and while I note the strength of feeling of the noble Lord, Lord Hay, on this issue, it cannot be assumed that just because someone is a long-term resident in Northern Ireland, or any other part of the United Kingdom, they wish to become a British citizen. We do not consider that automatically imposing British citizenship on Irish citizens resident in Northern Ireland, or indeed anywhere, without their opting to apply for it would be appropriate. We would not want to do anything that might jeopardise the unique relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Our existing naturalisation processes provide an adequate route for Irish citizens with a close and continuing connection to the UK to become British, should they wish to do so. That route can be accessed by Irish citizens with far less residence than that suggested by the noble Lord. There is no provision in British nationality law for the automatic acquisition of citizenship on the basis of long-term UK residence for anyone, and we do not consider it appropriate to single out Irish nationals born in Ireland who live in Northern Ireland for different treatment from those from other countries with which the UK has strong links, such as the Commonwealth or EEA countries.

It would be impracticable to operate a system where an applicant must demonstrate residence in the UK for five decades. It would raise logistical issues regarding acceptable documents, permitted absence periods and challenges in establishing evidential thresholds for historical residence. They are changes which would, in turn, inflate the costs of citizenship processes for all and potentially reduce the likelihood of a successful application.

While I appreciate the strength of feeling on this issue, and why the noble Lord, Lord Hay, has raised these questions, matters of identity and citizenship are complex and present difficult questions for our society. However, for the reasons I have given, it would not be right automatically to confer British passports on Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland in the manner the noble Lord has suggested.

I am aware that a number of direct questions were asked of me by the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, and the noble Baroness, Lady Suttie. I will reply to those by correspondence given the lack of time available.

House adjourned at 6.53 pm.