Sajid Javid becomes Britain’s first ethnic minority politician to take charge as Home Secretary on Monday to replace Amber Rudd, who resigned after admitting that she had “inadvertently misled” Parliament over the existence of deportation targets for illegal immigrants.

Javid, the son of a Pakistani bus driver whose family migrated to Britain in the 1960s, was promoted from his Cabinet post of Communities, Local Government and Housing minister and vowed to review the country’s immigration policy to make sure it was fair and people were treated with "dignity and respect".

"The most urgent task I have is to help those British citizens that came from the Caribbean the so-called Windrush generation and make sure that they are all treated with the decency and the fairness that they deserve. I think that's what people want to see," said Javid.

The 48-year-old Rochdale-born former investment banker is the Conservative party MP for Bromsgrove since 2010 and has previously held business and culture portfolios in the UK government.

“The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP as secretary of state for the home department,” a Downing Street statement said.

Theresa May, who served as UK home secretary for many years before taking charge as British Prime Minister in July 2016, has faced severe criticism over the dispute around the UK Home Office setting targets for enforced removals of illegal migrants. Asked if she should take some personal responsibility for Rudd’s resignation, she said on Monday: "When I was home secretary, yes, there were targets in terms of removing people from the country who were here illegally.

"If you talk to members of the public they want to ensure we are dealing with people who are here illegally."

In Rudd, the British PM lost a close ally in the Cabinet and said she was "very sorry" to see her go, adding, "I think she can look back with pride as home secretary."

Javid becomes the first South Asian origin MP to hold the key portfolio in the UK Cabinet and his appointment is widely seen as a way for Theresa May to curtail the backlash from the Windrush scandal, which brought to light the unfair treatment of Commonwealth citizens from Jamaica over a lack of citizenship documentation.

“I was really concerned when I first started hearing and reading about some of the issues. It immediately impacted me. I’m a second-generation migrant. My parents came to this country... just like the Windrush generation,” Javid wrote in ‘The Sunday Telegraph’.

“They came to this country after the Second World War to help rebuild it, they came from Commonwealth countries, they were asked to come in to (do) work that some people would describe as unattractive – my dad worked in a cotton mill, he worked as a bus driver,” he said.

“When I heard about the Windrush issue I thought, ‘that could be my mum… it could be my dad… it could be my uncle… it could be me,” he added.

James Brokenshire, the former Northern Ireland secretary who stood down in January due to health reasons to have a tumour removed from his lung, has been moved into Javid’s old job as Housing, Communities and Local Government secretary. UK international development secretary, Penny Mordaunt, takes on the additional role of minister for equalities.

The resignation of Amber Rudd followed weeks of pressure ever since her statement to the Parliament’s Home Affairs Select Committee denying knowledge of any targets to remove illegal migrants from the UK. Leaked memos and letters in the media seemed to contradict her claims, resulting in her decision to step down on Sunday night.

Rudd said she took "full responsibility" for the fact that she was not aware of "information provided to (her) office which makes mention of targets".

In response, May said she believed Rudd had given her evidence to the House of Commons "in good faith" but that she understood her decision to resign and take "responsibility for inadvertently misleading the home affairs select committee".

Rudd became the fourth person forced to resign from the UK Cabinet in the last six months – following former defence minister Sir Michael Fallon, former international development minister Priti Patel and Theresa May’s deputy Damian Green.

The latest resignation comes just days before local council elections in Britain, due to be held on May 3, during which the Opposition parties will hope to capitalise on some of the upheavals in government.