To All Members of the House of Lords,
Re: Nationality and Borders Bill
We hope our letter finds you well.
We write to you to outline our deep concerns relating to the Nationality and Borders Bill which is currently passing through the House of Lords. We understand that the second reading will take place on 5th January 2022.
We seek your respectful attention to the overtly racist and prejudicial implications that the Bill will have for approximately 6 million British citizens who are predominantly from an ethnic minority background. We are appalled that 298 of our elected Members of Parliament voted for the Bill in its current form without considering the implications that the Bill, in its current form, will inadvertently have by creating a two tier citizenship where the ‘brown’ or ‘black’ man or woman will be subject to the whims of the Home Secretary of the day without any legal oversight whatsoever. There are no safety measures contained in the Bill for a citizen facing the ultimate draconian measure as that of the deprivation of their citizenship despite the reassurances given by the Government. We especially refer here to the removal of notice requirements pursuant to Clause 9 of the Bill.
The key structure of any functioning democracy is that of an independent judiciary, however, it is with dismay that we now see our rights and liberties being slowly restricted by the current Government. We see the expansion of the powers given to successive Home Secretaries who have overseen the removal of individuals being deprived of their British citizenship over the past 20 years. Where once the power to remove citizenship by a Home Secretary was used against individuals connected to terrorist related activities, we now see the current Government seeking to expand those powers to removing citizenship where the Home Secretary considers that it is in ‘conducive to the public good.’
It is extremely dangerous to grant such draconian powers to the Home Secretary which can be open to abuse, errors in judgment and problematic evidence. There must be legal oversight, failure to do so will cause a two tier system where crimes committed by ‘White English’ British citizens, no matter how heinous, will not face the possibility of being deprived of their citizenship. This is in effect, a racist policy or agenda, regardless of the manner in which the current Government wishes to ‘dress’ the Bill in current form.
The Government has issued their Police Paper which was published on 3 December 2021 (
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-and-borders-bill-deprivation-of-citizenship-factsheet/nationality-and-borders-bill-deprivation-of-citizenship-factsheet). When dealing with the interpretation of what it means to be ‘conducive to the public good,’ the Policy Paper states as follows:
“1. Deprivation of citizenship on ‘conducive to the public good’ grounds is reserved for those who pose a threat to the UK or whose conduct involves very high harm, for example in response to activities such as those involving:
- national security including espionage and acts of terrorism
- unacceptable behaviour such as the ‘glorification’ of terrorism
- war crimes
- and serious and organised crime
This is used sparingly against those who pose a serious threat to the UK or whose conduct involves very high harm and complies with the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The Home Secretary decides each case personally.”
Respectfully, we consider that the use of wording such as ‘unacceptable behaviour’ is clearly open to abuse and interpretation. It is frankly unacceptable that ethnic minorities who are living and contributing for the benefit of the UK, will be open to being deprived of their citizenship without the right to notice which will cause significant expense, inconvenience, trauma and affect family life especially where errors are made and a person is removed from the UK or blocked from returning back to the UK. There are several cases, where individuals deprived of their citizenship, were successful in overturning the decision to remove their citizenship, albeit to a great cost to their family life, employment and wellbeing. Where is the consideration for British citizens of an ethnic minority background?
We respectfully request that the Bill is amended to ensure that the rights of ethnic minority citizens are not curtailed under the ‘blanket’ policy so that individuals from minority backgrounds are not treated differently as this would be a miscarriage of justice and cause great harm to communities living here in the UK. We wish to also highlight the great contribution ethnic minorities have made to this country including the millions of soldiers from the Commonwealth who fought for Britain and its allies in both World War I and World War II. We consider that the passing of such a Bill, in its current form, will be an affront to the memory of those soldiers, their sacrifices and the lives they gave for defending Britain where many of their descendants count Britain as their home today. Surely, the British Government will not be so callous as to ignore the contributions of our minorities residing in the United Kingdom.
We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely,
1. Ron Waugh - GMB/UNITE
2. Association of Muslim Lawyers
3. Raghad Altikriti - Muslim Association of Britain
4. Imran Shah - Muslim Public Affairs Committee UK
5. Chris Williamson - Resist
6. Linda Laurie, Roger Silverman, Philip Edwards, Trish O'Hara, Aijaz Sheikh - Newham Socialist Labour
7. Abdul Malik - Birmingham Bangladeshi Business Association
8. Gill McCall, Eva Turner, David Buxton, Carel Buxton, Mohammed Zolil Miah, Elizabeth Ramsden, Sue Mew, Paul Olford, Rada Daniell, Karel Schling, Elizabeth Hales, Peter Bloomer, Catherine Christian - Unite Community
9. Farooq Alam, Soloman Khan - Masjid Bilal
10. Muhammad Farmer - British Institute of Technology Ltd
11. Muhammad Patel - Madrassa Talimul Islam
12. George Burch, Bernadette Jenkins, Fraser Sullivan, Marian Howard, Jan Malique, Anne Hobbs, Alan Humphries, Stephanie Pritchard, Valerie Camroux, Chad Leslie, Andy Polshaw, Lizzy Ali. Lorraine Cunnison, John Cunnison, Sarah Daniel - Labour Party
13. Ali Kazmi - Save Our Citizenships
14. Amritpal Singh Dhesi - Sikh Council UK
15. Jenny Kassman, Leah Levane - Jewish Voice for Labour
16. Susan Keane, Pippa Dowswell - NEU
17. Mohammed Sageer Shamsudeen - Strive UK
18. Mabrur Ahmed - Restless Beings
19. Mohammed Kozbar - Finsbury Park Mosque
20. Fahim Kayani - President Tehreek-e-Kashmir IK
21. Mohammed Shafiq - Ramadhan Foundation
22. Ramya Jaidev, Artnell Williams - Windrush Lives
23. Abderrezak - Muslim Welfare House of Sheffield
24. Andrea Gilbert - Black Wandsworth Community
25. Syed Jung - Brighton and Hove Muslim Forum
26. Muhammad Uddin - Community Development Initiative LTD
27. Janis Dewsbery - Sutton Coldfied CLP
28. Muhammad Uddin - Newham Muslim Forum
29. Daud Juneja, Fatma Said - Alnoor Cultural & Educational Trust
30. Harjit Singh - Kesri Lehar Scotland
31. Amar S Ghanam - Fatimah Community Centre
32. Andrew Ebenuwah - Winners Chapel
33. Syed Rahim - CUBE Network
34. Paul Holborow, Amina Mangera - Stand up to Racism
35. Abdul Rouf, Abul Kashem - Royal Docks Welfare Association
36. Nurul Islam - The New Masalla Merchant
37. Jeanine Amel, Gillian Pardesi - North Staffordshire Community Against Racism and Fascism
38. Mohammed Arif - Interim Chair, Union of Muslim Organisations (Walsall)
39. Ali Akhtar - Al-Hira Educational Centre
40. Prof. Chauhdry M Shafique MBE - Council for Christian Muslim Relations HW
41. Massoud Shadjareh - Islamic Human Rights Commission
42. Anas Altikriti - The Cordoba Foundation
43. Zulfiqar Ali - Alliance of Muslim Associations in Newham
44. Suhaib Al-Rawi - MEC LTD, Director
45. Gwyneth Stewart - Chair, Halesowen & Rowley Regis Women’s Forum
46. Bill Adam - McGowns Ltd
47. Sultanali Mehrali - KSIMC
48. Maureen Lawkess - Unite the Community Sheffield and Assist
49. Kenny Watson - Warrington Against Racism and Fascism
50. Temi Ade-John - Fahrenheit Law
51. Mahtab Aziz - Blacks Legal
52. Yvonne Field, Natalie Armitage - The Ubele Initiative
53. Haroon Abdullah, Umar Abdullah Bin, Ayesha Abdullah Binte, Marufa Shahed Binte, Mahsina binte Haroon - UKIM
54. Tony Pearce - Stafford Welcomes Refugees
55. Shavaun Shodeinde - Church of England
56. Rev Ijeoma Ajibade - St Philips Earls Court, Diocese of London
57. Karen Bowers - Bristol Law Centre
58. Tony Greenstein - Vice President, Brighton & Hove Trades Council
59. Juliette Maytham - Blue Sky Property
60. Paul Bragman - Community Regen
61. Debbie Usiskin - Compassionate Neighbours
62. Norma Josephs - ACCDF
63. Abdul Azim Ahmed - Muslim Council of Wales
64. Nasar hussain - Musa luton Ltd
65. London Muslim Community Forum
66. Tonya bolton - ICU Transformational Arts Limited
67. Azhar Qayum - MEND
68. Charlotte Burck, Julia Nelki - Refugee Resilience Collective
69. Mogamat Reederwan Craayenstein - Labour Black Socialists
70. Boubekeur Adjenak - London to Makkah
71. Syed Wahid - Beckton Islamic Association
72. Dr Kat Alcock - University College London
73. Khurshid Ahmed - KA Solicitors Ltd
74. Julian Williams - UCU, University of Manchester
75. Rupinder Kaur - Asian Women MEAN Business
76. Yasmin Surti - Federation of Muslim Organisations, Leicestershire
77. Samantha Asumadu - Media Diversified
78. Harjap Singh Bhangal - GLS Solicitors
79. Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE - Independent Arts Consultant
80. Shirley Lloyd - Enhance Education
81. Gubs Singh - BGS Accounting
82. Daniel Sheriffe - Black Business Group Leeds
83. AbdulBaasit Malik - Chair, Consortium Network Limited
84. Candace Allen - Chineke Foundation
85. Rhona Brown - Manchester CAT
86. Amanda Smith - Maternity Engagement Action CIC
87. Miriam usiskin - University of Hertfordshire
88. Omar Leon - Caribbean Labour Solidarity
89. Councillor Khaled Noor - Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF)
90. Bashir Patel - Federation of Redbridge Muslim Organisations
91. Andrew Fox - Community of Christ
92. Hilda Wright - HW Legal
93. Musleh Faradhi - Muslim Community Association
94. Hannah Cotton - EquALLIES
95. Sonna Norman Jonas-Livingstone - Tooting Youth Project
96. Sobia Rana - Muslim Hands
97. Dr Smain Badaoui - Nottingham Council of Mosques
98. Sir Iqbal Sacranie - Balham Masjid & Tooting Islamic Centre
99. Toufik kacimi - Muslim Welfare House
100. Salman Butt - Islam21c
101. Society of Asian Lawyers
