According to the Guardian the government has partially backed down on the deporting to Jamaica those who were children when they came to the UK will not now be deported.

That could be more than half of the flight of 50 detainees originally slated for deportation.

Thankfully the Jamaican government has made representations to the UK government to stop the cruel and barbaric action but unfortunately still leaves many other individuals facing deportation.

The flight is still scheduled to depart the UK on Wednesday 2 December.

Stop deporting to Jamaica people who have been in UK most of their lives

Karen Doyle from the  Movement For Justice says of a sample of 20 cases due to be on the fight on Wednesday, none had arrived in the UK before the age of 12.

Doyle told the Guardian: “With previous flights the proportion who arrived here as children was always much higher. This is a welcome change and something that has been fought for for many years. But the secrecy around it is disturbing. A backroom deal just for this flight is not acceptable. The change must apply to all those who came as children regardless of their country of origin.”

Bella Sankey, the director of Detention Action, also questioned the secrecy surrounding the deal, urging for the law to be changed to prevent people who arrived as children (under 18) being deported: “If true, this agreement marks progress in reforming our barbaric deportation system, but why the secrecy? To be effective, this rule must be written into the law so that it can provide protection in practice and should be applied equally to all who arrive in the UK under 18, wherever they may have arrived from.”