A June 2017 memo penned by the Home Office’s Immigration Enforcement division was leaked to the Guardian newspaper this week, casting light on the government’s goal to expel 12,800 immigrants in 2017-2018.
"I wasn't aware of specific removal targets," Rudd tweeted late on Friday. "I accept I should have been and I'm sorry that I wasn't."
She argued she had not seen the leaked memo despite it being copied to her office, and promised to answer questions in parliament next Monday. But she rejected calls to step down saying, "I will work to ensure that our immigration policy is fair and humane."
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott from the opposition Labour Party slammed her for not having read the crucial document on which so many lives depended. Abbott said on Twitter an apology was not enough and urged Rudd to "take responsibility for chaos in the Home Office and resign."
