Waltham Forest MPs have had their say on the Windrush scandal affecting hundreds across the UK.

Theresa May’s government has repeatedly apologised for distress caused to those who moved to the UK during the 1940s to work.

Some individuals, who have been in the country for decades, have been threatened with deportation if they cannot provide paperwork to prove they are in the country legally.

In 2009, the government shredded the landing cards that would have acted as official paperwork for hundreds of people and avoided threats of deportation.

Iain Duncan Smith, MP for Chingford & Woodford Green, said: “I was deeply concerned. Whilst there is no doubt that this problem should not have arisen and when it did, should have been identified much earlier, it is right that the Prime Minister has apologised for this failure and pledged to right any injustice.

“The government has set up a Taskforce now urgently confirming [Windrush citizen’s] rights, including full access to services. On top of that, fees are waived when they apply for citizenship. This applies whether they have current documentation or not. There will for them, no longer be a Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK test.

“Most of the children of the ‘Windrush generation’ who are in the UK are already British citizens; where this is not the case, any application will be fast tracked and carry no cost. Finally, those who made their lives here but have now retired to their country of origin will be able to come back to the UK, the cost of any fees associated with this process will be waived.

“For any of my constituents caught up in this, I pledge to help them in every way to resolve their problem and urge them to contact me.”

John Cryer, MP for Leyton and Wanstead, has given his support to a letter sent to the Prime Minister, asking her to act quickly to stop the growing crisis.

According to Mr Cryer’s parliamentary assistant, his office alone has dealt with up to 80 cases involving members of the Windrush generation in the last five years.

Addressing Theresa May, Mr Cryer wrote: “As your Government prepares to host the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, I join my colleagues who have written to request an immediate and effective response to the growing crisis facing British residents who arrived in Britain from the countries of the Commonwealth prior to 1973.

I fully support the sentiments in the joint letter from my colleagues in both Houses.”

The letter said: “All too often these routine bureaucratic errors bring about the separation of families and irreparable damage to lives.

“Compounding this crisis, too many of those who do have the right to be here are too afraid to approach the Home Office for help with their paperwork in case they are detained, stripped of their rights or separated from their families and removed to countries of which they have no real memory.

“We specifically request that you direct your Government to urgently put in place procedures for the swift resolution of this growing crisis.

“We urge you to guarantee the status of all Commonwealth nationals whose right to remain is protected by law and to provide an effective, humane route to the clarification of their status. It is a simple act that will transform life for so many people who have given so much of that life to Britain.”