More than 500 people granted Britain citizenship in June following Windrush scandal

After years of uncertainty, more than 500 people were granted British citizenship last month in the wake of the Windrush scandal.

After living legally in the United Kingdom for decades, many of the Windrush generation wrongly lost their jobs, benefits and pensions and had been warned they faced deportation.

In the wake of the scandal, the government faced a furious backlash.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid has now confirmed that more than 2,000 individuals have been issued documentation confirming their right to live in the country - but the Home Office still faces criticism.

Labour MP Yvette Cooper said it was “very disappointing” that the Commons Home Affairs Committee, which she chairs, has still not been provided with information about the number of people wrongly detained, and that the Home Office has yet to make contact with the majority of those who may have been incorrectly removed or deported.

Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973 were automatically granted indefinite leave to remain under the 1971 Immigration Act.

While many of those who arrived have taken British citizenship or have official documents confirming their status, others have struggled to produce paperwork demonstrating they are lawfully resident.

Following fears long-term residents may have been forced to leave, officials examined around 8,000 removal records and found 63 cases where there was an indication the individual could have been in the UK prior to 1973.

Of those, 32 related to deportation of foreign national offenders (FNOs), while 31 were “administrative” removals.

In a letter to Ms Cooper, Mr Javid said: “As I have already explained to the committee, I have instructed officials in the Taskforce to try and make contact, where possible, with the 31 people who had been administratively removed.

“Of these 14 are now in discussion with the taskforce. We continue to work with relevant Caribbean governments to obtain contact details where we do not have them and I am grateful for the assistance they have been providing.”

The Home Secretary said he has asked officials to distinguish the administrative cases from FNOs as those in the latter group have gone through a deportation process in which they would have had an opportunity to appeal.