Anthony Brown: the man who resisted deportation – then fought tirelessly for Windrush survivors

When he applied to university in the 80s, Brown was told to leave the UK. Decades later, finally awarded a law degree, he set about helping people who had been targeted by the Home Office

In the summer of 1982, Anthony Brown, then 21, was hoping for an acceptance letter for a place to study law in London. He had worked hard for his A-levels in computing, maths and physics at North Trafford College in Manchester and was full of energy and idealism. After his degree, he planned to join the police, to help counter the violent style of policing he had seen in television coverage of the recent Brixton riots.

Instead, he received a letter from the Home Office telling him he was in the UK illegally and needed to report to Manchester airport for deportation. Brown, who was born in Jamaica but moved to England as a six-year-old in 1967, had been classified as an immigration offender. It was immediately clear that he was not going to be able to start a law degree.