UK apologizes to migrants forced to undergo DNA tests

British Home Secretary Sajid Javid on Thursday apologized to people who were made to undergo DNA tests to prove they were entitled to reside in the country.

Javid told the UK House of Commons that family members of Afghan and Nepalese nationals who worked for the British armed forces had been among those affected by the requirement, Efe news reported.

"Today I want to take this opportunity to apologize to those affected by this practice," Javid said. "The provision of DNA evidence should always be voluntary and never mandatory."

The Interior Ministry opened an investigation four months ago after it came to light that civil servants had been demanding DNA tests from migrants.

The minister said nobody should "face a demand to supply DNA evidence" within the UK's system of immigration and that he would be conducting a review to make sure the process was "fair and humane".

The case came after the so-called Windrush scandal revealed the UK took decades to recognize the immigration rights of people who came over from the Caribbean to work in the 1950s, according to the report.

--IANS

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