A former Conservative council leader in Kent says the controversy surrounding the treatment of Windrush migrants has made him almost ashamed to be English.

Bob Atwood, led Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in 2011 but is now co-founder of a new independent party fielding candidates in next month’s poll as Tunbridge Wells Alliance, said it was disgraceful that Afro-Caribbean migrants and their families who came to England to work in the 1950s were being threatened with deportation.

“I am almost ashamed to be English. I think what has been unfolding nationally and politically - if true - is truly shaming for the country and is disgraceful that we should be finding ourselves in this situation. I am not sure that I would entirely lay the blame with the Conservatives. I think successive governments over the years have treated immigration disgracefully.”

Speaking on ‘Paul on Politics’ on KMTV, he said: “Immigration has always been desperately important for Kent, particularly seasonal labour for the agricultural industry. It would be absolutely anathema to want to dispense with immigrants.”

Maidstone independent Fay Gooch said: “We opened our doors to them and they did jobs that frankly the white indigenous population did not want to do. They are part of us.”

Green party spokesman Stuart Jeffery said nothing was being done to address the labour shortage around food production. “We are not as a society immigrant friendly and we really need to be. The environment knows no borders and neither should immigration.”

Carole Stuart of the Medway African and Caribbean Association, said: “It has caused tremendous anxiety for people who have lived here for all of their lives, paid their taxes and put up with a lot of racist rubbish to now be told that they are not welcome and that their contribution is not valued. It is very distressing to people to learn there may be deported.”

“A lot of the people who are brought over here 70 years ago have made a valid contribution to society.”

The Prime Minister has made several apologies to the Windrush migrants and their families and has also now said financial compensation should be paid.

You can watch the programme here