Man on the run from deportation to Jamaica calls in to LBC
10 February 2020, 16:02 | Updated: 10 February 2020, 17:10
"I fear for my life" - this man who is on the run from tomorrow's deportation flight to Jamaica called in to LBC.
Christopher is one of the 50 people who should be on the deportation flight back to Jamaica tomorrow but is currently on the run.
Downing Street has defended the flight, claiming it's a "long-standing" practice for serious offences. Officials have said that those expected to be on board were convicted of crimes including manslaughter and rape.
Labour MP Dawn Butler is one of 150 cross-party MPs and peers urging the government to stop the flight and told LBC why she is doing so. She says many of those involved came to the country as young children, they say.
"I'm scared for my life," said Christopher, "anxiety is at a high level right now as I've been speaking to a couple of my friends who are also inside here today and the tension is really peaking for a lot of people."
He said he is fearing for his safety in Jamaica as he hasn't been there for 24 years; people he knew who have been deported to Jamaica have lost their life as Jamaican citizens "don't like deportation."
Christopher said he tried to tell the Home Office that those that go back to Jamaica lose their life but his protestations "fell on deaf ears."
"I'm a human being, I should never be treated this way," he said, to which Shelagh countered the Home Office has the legal right to deport him after he assaulted a UK citizen and didn't treat them in a kind way.
Christopher said he took exception to the Home Office waiting ten years after his sentence to deport him; he was jailed for 14 months for assault a decade ago and then kept in a detention centre for a further 12 months a decade ago.
Christopher has a British born mother, came to the UK at 22 and has children in the UK, the youngest being 12 and the oldest being 19.
He says he's not had a "fair chance" and doesn't want to be "locked up and put in a detention centre anymore."
