What an absolute farce.
Disgusted (though honestly not surprised) by the way the Home Office responded when it was revealed that the database of landing cards, which was used to prove arrival dates, had been destroyed. Despite the protestations of experienced staff.
The Home Office acknowledged that the UK Border Agency decided in 2010 to “securely dispose of some documents known as registration slips. These slips provided details of an individual’s date of entry but did not provide any reliable evidence relating to ongoing residence in the UK or their immigration status.”
Officials said in a statement that the decision was taken on data protection grounds, “to ensure that personal data … should not be kept for longer than necessary. Keeping these records would have represented a potential breach of these principles”.
The Home Office added that in deciding immigration cases, it considers alternative documents, such as tax records and utility bills, as evidence of ongoing residency. “The disposal of registration slips would therefore have no bearing on immigration cases whereby Commonwealth citizens are proving residency in the UK.”
Classic bully behaviour. Deny you've done anything wrong then try to point out faults in your victim. (Known as DARVO. Deny. Accuse. Reverse Victim & Offender. As used by classic unaware narcissistic abusive types through the centuries).
Home Office: "Prove you arrived when you say you did or we'll get nasty".
Windrush Person: "You destroyed the evidence of when I arrived".
Home Office: "But we had to. Umm. Something something data protection. Anyway,
you should have been the one keeping pieces of paper. So it's
your fault. Ooh look, a squirrel".
Data protection grounds my arse. Looks like it was necessary to keep the data contained on them for longer eh?
I'm glad to see that others are now coming forward to point this out as the complete utter balderdash that it is.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/18/whistleblowers-contradict-no-10-over-destroyed-windrush-landing-cards