MEMBERS of the Windrush generation will be refused British citizenship even if they have the right to remain, Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced yesterday.

In an update to the home affairs select committee, Mr Javid said the Windrush taskforce will soon begin refusing the applications of people deemed not to be eligible for documentation or citizenship.

He said that the first refusals would be made where there is “evidence of serious criminality” – those who have received sentences of four years or more for crimes including robbery, the supply of drugs, child sex offences and murder – and where “the good character requirement for British citizenship” is not met.

Those who had applied for documentation from outside Britain who are unable to prove that they were settled before January 1 1973 will also be turned down.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said Mr Javid had “gone back on his promise” and accused him of “asking for evidence from people that did not have it in the first place.”