The PCS has criticised the appointment of journalist David Goodhart as the commissioner at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Goodhart currently heads the immigration and integration unit at the right-wing think tank Policy Exchange, has a track record of making controversial comments about immigration policy, BLM and the Windrush scandal. He defended Theresa May’s hostile environment policy which led to government vans stalking Britain’s streets telling migrants: “In the UK Illegally? Go home or face arrest.” The hostile environment policies were also blamed for the Windrush scandal which saw hundreds of black people forced to leave the country despite many having lived and worked in Britain for decades. The Windrush transports between 1948 and 1971 saw thousands of Caribbean people invited to live and work in Britain. On the Windrush scandal, Mr Goodhart wrote in the Telegraph describing the Windrush scandal as “an error of over-zealous control” which “must not lead to a radical watering-down of the so-called ‘hostile environment.” And he was accused of “lacking empathy” in an article where he criticised the Black Lives Matter movement. PCS, which has members working in the Home Office and at the EHRC, has always opposed the hostile environment policy. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “It is astounding how someone who has said the Windrush scandal was an “error of overzealous control,” can be put on the board of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. “Mr Goodhart’s track record of controversial statements around immigration and the BLM movement, show he is completely unsuitable for this post. “If people are going to have any confidence in the institutions set up to tackle racism and protect human rights in society, they need to see prominent positions filled by individuals who have a track record of fighting injustice. “Mr Goodhart has no such record and should be removed from his new post.” |