INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The opposition had accused Amber Rudd of incompetence and being a "human shield" for Theresa MayLondon:
Britain's interior minister Amber Rudd resigned on Sunday over an illegal immigration policy controversy, in a bitter blow to Prime Minister
Theresa May days before local elections.Rudd stood down amid claims she mislead lawmakers on whether her department held targets for
removing illegal immigrants in Britain."The prime minister has tonight accepted the resignation of the home secretary," said a spokesman for
May's office.Rudd telephoned May to inform her of the decision following days of intensifying pressure over the immigration issue and
increasing calls for her to quit.That had followed weeks of scrutiny of her handling of another Home Office scandal: the targeting of the
so-called Windrush generation.Commonwealth citizens primarily from the Caribbean who came to Britain in the post-World War II decades had
been wrongly threatened with deportation, provoking an outcry when it emerged earlier this month.Their erroneous targeting stemmed from a
"hostile environment" immigration policy pioneered by May when she was interior minister between 2010 and 2016, and then continued by
Rudd.The opposition Labour Party had accused Rudd of incompetence and being a "human shield" for May."This was inevitable, the only surprise
is that it took so long," said shadow interior minister Diane Abbott following Rudd's resignation."The architect of this crisis, Theresa
May, must now step forward to give a full and honest account of how this inexcusable situation happened on her watch."Rudd's decision to
step down will come as a severe setback for the Conservative leader, who publicly declared her "full confidence" in Rudd as recently as
Friday and faces potentially bruising local council elections across England on Thursday.May could see the Tories wiped out in London, where
several once-safe Conservative councils could flip to Labour.Untenable positionAs the Windrush scandal intensified, Rudd told a
parliamentary committee the Home Office did not keep targets for the number of illegal immigrants removed from Britain. While she
maintained she was unaware of such measures, there was mounting evidence that targets did exist and were known about within her department,
making her position increasingly untenable.Rudd had been due to make another appearance before parliament on Monday, but instead opted to
resign late Sunday.The MP for Hastings on England's south coast, who had led the Home Office since 2016, was seen as a moderate on the
European Union and a balancing force in a cabinet made up of several big-name pro-Brexit figures, such as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
and Environment Secretary Michael Gove.Both men were quick to praise her on social media following news of the resignation."Really sad to
lose @AmberRuddHR from Cabinet
A fine colleague who did a great job during last year's terrorist attacks and cares deeply about the people she serves," Johnson
tweeted.Gove said he was "so sad" about her departure, adding on Twitter "she was a huge asset I hope Amber will be back soon -- we need
her."One of the more heartfelt reactions came from George Osborne, long-time finance minister under former Prime Minister David Cameron.He
wrote: "The Government just got a bit less human.(This story has not been edited by staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
