A Tory minister has admitted Amber Rudd was aware of plans to increase the number of illegal immigrants being deported, but denied she knew about specific targets to achieve this.

Brandon Lewis, the Conservative Party chairman, said he had regularly updated the home secretary on the issue when he was the immigration minister in her department – but insisted a plan to increase deportations by 10 per cent was an “ambition” rather than a target.

He said he had discussed this “overall ambition” with Ms Rudd during his time at the Home Office but defended her claim that she had not been aware of any specific targets

Mr Lewis was the recipient of a contentious memo on deportation targets that was also sent to Ms Rudd, raising doubts over her claims to have been unaware of the policy.

The home secretary is facing mounting calls to resign after appearing to give Parliament incorrect information on two different occasions. She first told the Home Affairs Committee that the Home Office did not use deportation targets, but this was later proved incorrect.

The home secretary then said she had been unaware of the policy but this, too, was brought into doubt when the leaked memo revealed she had been informed of the plan to increase the number of people deported by 10 per cent.

Mr Lewis insisted there was a difference between specific “local” targets used by Immigration Enforcement teams and the “overall ambition” to increase deportations. He said Ms Rudd was aware of the latter, but not the former.

Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Show all 15 1 /15 Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK The ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush' arriving at Tilbury Docks from Jamaica, with 482 Jamaicans on board, emigrating to Britain. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Jamaican immigrants being welcomed by RAF officials from the Colonial Office after the ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush' landed them at Tilbury. PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Alford Gardner who arrived in Britain in 1948 on the first Windrush ship to dock in Tilbury, Essex, speaking at his home in Leeds PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Alford Gardner in Leeds shortly after he arrived in Britain in 1948 on the first Windrush ship to dock in Tilbury, Essex PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Gardner was 22 years old when he boarded the ship in Kingston, Jamaica, with his brother Gladstone before they and hundreds of Caribbean migrants called on to rebuild post-war Britain disembarked the ship in Tilbury Docks PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Alford Gardner (right), during his RAF service in 1947 PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK The son of Ruth Williams, a Windrush-generation immigrant, wants to the leave the country after threats of deportation. According to his mother, Mr Haynes applied for British citizenship in 2016 but was rejected, despite Ms Williams having lived in the UK almost permanently since arriving from St Vincent and the Grenadines in 1959. Ruth Williams, 75, said she felt "betrayed" by Britain after the Home Office twice turned down applications for her 35-year-old son, Mozi Haynes, to remain in the country. Ms Williams is understood to have cancer and said she relies heavily on her son for support. PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK The British liner 'Empire Windrush' at port in 1954. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Ruth Williams, 75, with her British passport. "I feel betrayed and a second class citizen in my own country," she said. "This makes me so sad and the Home Office must show some compassion. "I am unwell and almost 75, I live on my own and I need my son to stay here. I need my family around me and I can’t face being alone. He has applied to the Home Office and been refused twice." PA Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK From the top, hopeful Jamaican boxers Charles Smith, Ten Ansel, Essi Reid, John Hazel, Boy Solas and manager Mortimer Martin arrive at Tilbury on the Empire Windrush in the hope of finding work in Britain. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Jamaicans reading a newspaper whilst on board the ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush' bound for Tilbury docks in Essex. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK After half a century in Britain, Anthony Bryan decided it was time to go abroad. But the decision set off a nightmare that saw him lose his job, detained twice and almost deported to Jamaica. AFP/Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Jamaica-born Anthony Bryan poses outside his home in Edmonton, north London. Now 60 and a grandfather, Bryan thought the issue could be resolved swiftly, as he legally moved to Britain with his family as part of the Windrush generation of Caribbean migrants after World War II. In 1948, the ship Windrush brought the first group of migrants from the West Indies to help rebuild post-war Britain, and many others followed from around the Commonwealth. A 1971 law gave them indefinite leave to remain, but many never formalised their status, often because they were children who came over on their parents' passports and then never applied for their own. AFP/Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Three Jamaican immigrants (left to right) John Hazel, a 21-year-old boxer, Harold Wilmot, 32, and John Richards, a 22-year-old carpenter, arriving at Tilbury on board the ex-troopship 'Empire Windrush', smartly dressed in zoot suits and trilby hats. Getty Windrush generation: threat of deportation from UK Newly arrived Jamaican immigrants on board the 'Empire Windrush' at Tilbury in 1948. Getty

Asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show whether he had ever been in a meeting with Ms Rudd where specific targets were discussed, he said: “I’ve been in a room with Amber Rudd talking about increasing the number of returns, but Amber Rudd and I never discussed particular numbers in the way that was outlined at the Home Affairs Committee.”

Asked why Ms Rudd had said she was unaware of the use of targets in relation to deportations, despite having been informed of the 10 per cent figure, Mr Lewis said: “She was right in what she said. She was being asked about the localised, regional, internal [targets] – effectively the KPIs [key performance indicators] the Immigration Enforcement agency was using, and yes she was not aware of that.

“She’s clear about that. I’ve worked with Amber and I know how focused she is on getting things right.”

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Mr Lewis said that, as immigration minister, he had chaired weekly update meetings on the progress being made in deporting illegal migrants. He admitted having discussed these with Ms Rudd but said they had not talked about specific targets.

“Yes I did talk to the home secretary about that and the overall work we were doing and the overall ambition to see a increase in numbers, but not on the detail of targets.

“Those internal targets were not in the memo and not figures that she was aware of.”

Ms Rudd is due to give a another statement to MPs on Monday in which she is expected to offer a further apology for her handling of the issue. She is likely to face questions about the leaked memo.