The government has been criticised over a leaflet for people it claims to be deporting to their home country, which includes advice to put on a local accent.

David Lammy, the Labour MP who spoke passionately about the Home Office’s treatment of the Windrush generation on Monday, said the document demonstrated the government’s “callous attitude towards thousands of people who have made their lives here and harks back to campaigns for ‘repatriation’ of migrants”.

The guide, produced in 2013, offers a list of dos and don’ts for people being deported to Jamaica, including the tip: “Try to be ‘Jamaican’ – use local accents and dialect”. It also reveals the name of the Jamaican currency and the names of some major Jamaican television stations and newspapers.

“How exactly can someone pretend to ‘be Jamaican’ when they are British and have lived here all their lives?” asked Lammy.



After the pamphlet came to light on Monday, he told the Guardian: “This document was published when Theresa May was home secretary, proudly promoting her hostile environments policy – the starting point for the injustices that we are seeing writ large for the Windrush generation.

“It is hard to believe that this document was written, approved and published. The very fact that the government feels that this is an appropriate way to treat the ancestors of those Caribbean pioneers who were invited to Britain as citizens tells its own sad story about the treatment of immigrants in our country.”



While the government says it is intended for people it believes to be from Jamaica, the leaflet includes basic information that is likely to be familiar with anyone from the country. It reveals that “electrical appliances use plugs that are two-pronged and flat” and advises deportees that “overseas accents can attract unwanted attention”.

The guide was put together by charities and non-governmental organisations in Jamaica, with the support of the British and Jamaican governments. The Home Office said the dos and don’ts section was written by a Jamaican NGO.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “This document has nothing to do with people from the Windrush generation, who are in the UK legally.” The Guardian has reported on numerous examples in which the department told people of the Windrush generation it considered them to be in the UK illegally.

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In addition, when questioned about her department’s approach to that group on Monday, the home secretary, Amber Rudd, told MPs: “Frankly, how they have been treated has been wrong – has been appalling – and I am sorry.”

The spokeswoman added: “As the home secretary has made clear today, the Home Office has set up a dedicated team to help people from that group to get the right paperwork to confirm their status in the UK.

“This particular document was intended to provide advice for people who have been in the UK illegally and are returning to Jamaica either voluntarily or through deportation.”