The government announced that a new team has been set up to deal with so-called “Windrush cases” today, as news that the Home Office destroyed thousands of landing cards recording Windrush citizens’ arrival in the UK came to light. 

According to the Guardian, the Home Office decided to destroy disembarkation cards – dated back to the 1950s and 60s – in 2010, despite objections from staff who warned that the move would make it harder to check records on older Caribbean-born residents. The papers were often the last remaining record of a person’s arrival. The files were destroyed when Theresa May was home secretary. 

The government also just published a document to guide undocumented commonwealth citizens residing the UK to obtain “official status”.