In response to today’s announcement, Maeve Sherlock, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council said:

“The Refugee Council welcomes today’s decision: it is the right and moral thing to do. It is utterly unfair on families – and especially children – to leave them in limbo, unable to rebuild their lives for years on end.

“Now the Government must focus on getting decisions right much earlier, so people are not left in uncertainty for years.”

Ends

Further information & links

Home Office minister Beverley Hughes published a letter to MPs on 29th October with further information about how the amnesty will operate. Download the letter (pdf). You will need Adobe Acrobat to do this, which you can get free by clicking on the icon and following the instructions on the Adobe website.

Read a Home Office statement on the announcement

Read BBCi’s coverage of the new measure

Read Guardian Unlimited’s coverage of the announcement

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