Children hit by UK’s hostile environment | Letters
In 1992 the John Major government signed up to the 54 articles that constitute the UN convention on the rights of the child. 26 years later hundreds of vulnerable children as young as 10, who have spent most of their lives in Britain, are having their applications for British citizenship denied for failing to pass the government's controversial "good character" test (Report, 22 September). The majority of these children are black. Meanwhile, Windrush tragedies are still being reported and more will follow.
For these "bad character" children, the Home Office has been advised by the chief inspector of borders and immigration "to exercise discretion". Discretion has never been a conspicuous feature of the Home Office, and certainly not since 2010, when Theresa May became home secretary. As for humanitarian "features", these appear to be forbidden at the Home Office. Nothing good can come of treating children in this way.
Bruce Ross-Smith
Oxford