David Lammy condemns ‘great shame’ of secret deportation flights from RAF base

He said Theresa May's Hostile Environment policy was a 'dystopian reality'

Labour MP David Lammy has condemned secret deportation flights ran out of RAF Brize Norton. The five flights, uncovered by JOE through a freedom of information request, deported hundreds of people to west Africa. Lammy said the militarisation of the deportation process "puts great shame on our country" and "undermines the UK's moral legitimacy." [caption id="attachment_207295" align="alignnone" width="5247"] An RAF C17 aircraft arrives at RAF Brize Norton on July 1, 2015 (Credit: Dan Kitwood)[/caption] Deportations to Nigeria and Ghana normally take place from London Stansted, a civilian airport, on specially chartered planes. However, the programme appears to have moved to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, following a major protest at Stansted where activists chained themselves to the wheels of a deportation jet in March 2017. A Nigerian man, mistakenly taken to RAF Brize Norton and nearly deported, spoke to JOE anonymously: "When the Home Office tried to deport me, they put me in a detention centre next to Gatwick Airport. I was suicidal. "I thought they were taking me to Gatwick, but after three hours on the road I noticed a military camp surrounded by barbed wire. There were guys in green camouflage holding big guns. They shouted at the driver asking for details. Even the driver seemed scared. "They don't take people to normal airports any more because people protested, so they take you to a military base instead." [caption id="attachment_207297" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Labour MP David Lammy has condemned the secret flights (Credit: Chris J Ratcliffe)[/caption] David Lammy told JOE: "This is another glimpse at the dystopian reality of Theresa May’s Hostile Environment policy. "It puts great shame on our country that in 2018 we are secretly tying up humans in belts, forcing them to military camps, and then deporting them to countries many have not been to since they were children. "It is no wonder that these ghost flights undergo major protests when they take off from civilian airports. They are inhumane, cruel, and undermine the UK’s moral legitimacy. "In the wake of this and other scandals, we need to begin a national conversation about the introduction of a modern and fair immigration policy."