Naomi Campbell and Thandie Newton call for airlines to halt Jamaica deportation flights
The runway icon, 50, and actress, 48, have urged airlines not to comply with the Home Office if ordered to carry out a deportation flight.
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Naomi Campbell and Thandie Newton are among the celebrities leading the call for airlines to stop deportation flights to Jamaica.
The runway icon, 50, and actress, 48, have urged airlines not to comply with the Home Office if ordered to carry out a deportation flight.
They join forces with actress Naomie Harris, as well as more than 80 black Britons in an open letter to the CEOs of TUI UK, Evelop Airlines, Titan Airways, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Hi Fly and Air Tanker.
They are also calling for a pause on the operation of future deportation flights to Commonwealth countries.
In the letter, the campaigners say they have grounds to believe the companies had worked with the UK government to “operate and facilitate” deportation flights.
They penned: “We have grounds to believe that one of your firms may be planning to operate the flight planned for 2nd December.
“We are writing to ask you to decline to operate the flight on the 2nd December and to pause the operation of deportation flights to Commonwealth countries for the foreseeable future.
“There are a number of important reasons why such flights are wholly inappropriate at this time and risk the unlawful and wrongful removal of people who have the right to remain in the UK.”
The Government said those on board the flight would include “dangerous foreign criminals” – including convicted rapists and murderers – and none of the offenders are eligible for the Windrush Scheme.
However the letter highlights concerns brought to light by the Equality and Human Rights Commission which say the government’s “hostile environment” policies breach equality laws and discriminate against black people in the UK.
Back in February earlier this year, the government had carried out a deportation flight to Jamaica, however with fewer detainees.
This was due to a last-minute Court of Appeal intervention.
The letter claims one of the men deported to Jamaica in a flight in February “was the grandson of a woman who arrived on the HMT Empire Windrush and is still seeking to have his deportation order revoked”.
The letter continues: “The credible risks of unlawful and wrongful deportations should be considered against a backdrop of concern about systemic racism.
“In an already challenging festive period … we ask you to reflect on whether the operation of this flight would comply with your corporate social responsibility values.”
A Home Office spokeswoman told the PA news agency: “We make no apology for seeking to remove dangerous foreign criminals to keep the public safe.
“Each week we remove foreign criminals from the UK to different countries who have no right to be here, this flight is no different.
“The people being detained for this flight include convicted murderers and rapists.”
MirrorCeleb