Sajid Javid has become the UK’s first home secretary from an ethnic minority background after Amber Rudd’s exit.
Mr Javid, the son of a Pakistani bus driver whose family came to the UK in the 1960s, had been communities, local government and housing secretary.
Ms Rudd quit after she said she “inadvertently” misled MPs over what she knew about immigration removal targets.
Labour’s Diane Abbott said Ms Rudd had “done the right thing” in quitting.
Ms Abbott added that the “architect of this crisis” – the prime minister – must come before the Commons to explain “whether she knew that Amber Rudd was misleading Parliament and the public last week”.
Ms Rudd’s departure came after she faced mounting criticism over her handling of Windrush scandal and immigration policy.
The Windrush generation settled legally in post-war Britain but their right-to-remain has been questioned, with some people having been detained, lost their jobs and been denied access to medical care.
This has prompted calls for the government to abandon its “hostile environment” policy on illegal immigration, which Ms Rudd and Prime Minister Theresa May have continued to defend.
Mr Javid told the Sunday Telegraph the Windrush scandal felt “very personal” to him as coming from a family of immigrants “it could have been me, my mum or my dad”.
He told the newspaper more could be done to address the concerns of people whose status had been wrongly questioned – and who have been promised compensation and fast-tracking to UK citizenship if they want it.
Mr Javid, a former investment banker and MP for Bromsgrove since 2010, has been communities secretary for about 18 months.
The 48-year old, who previously served as business and culture secretaries, led the government’s response to last year’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster.
The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg said it was a step up for Mr Javid, who some thought had been rather overlooked for other vacancies that have come about over the past six months.
He first entered Parliament in 2010 and supported remaining in the EU in the 2016 referendum despite being regarded as a Eurosceptic.
Following Mr Javid’s promotion, No 10 also announced former Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire will return to the cabinet as housing, communities and local government secretary while International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt will take Ms Rudd’s other role as women’s and equalities minister.
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Source: BBC