Milton Keynes Windrush victim, 82, is finally allowed home after government barred him for eight years

Clayton Barnes came to the UK in 1959 and lived here happily for 51 years.

But in 2010 the retired roofer left his MK home for a visit to his Jamaica birthplace to help repair hurricane damage on a family member’s home.

When he tried to board a flight back to England he was refused permission. The authorities told him his indefinite leave to stay had lapsed.

He was not even allowed to see his daughter Samantha Barnes-Garner and his grandchildren, who all live in MK.

“He was devastated. He felt that he’d done something wrong,” Samantha told the BBC.

Clayton, while stuck in Jamaica, himself described how much he missed his family.

“We’re very close. I said, why am I not down there with the kids, seeing them grow up?

“I always have the little kids in my arms. I take them to football. Whether it’s cold or rainy, I go to football.”

He added: “I grew up in England. I’m not a criminal. I work hard, pay my taxes, raise my kids, have family. I just came out here. I can’t get back. This is a joke.”

Samantha spent years battling with the authorities to allow her father home, highlighting him as a victim of the government’s Windrush scandal.

Last week Clayton was finally granted the paperwork to return to the UK and remain. He said he is looking forward to seeing friend, watching football and “having an ale in the pub.”

Clayton was told the good news that he was allowed to stay in MK when he appeared live on the Good Morning Britain programme.

On Tuesday last week Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid presented him with his UK citizenship papers.

Clayton’s daughter Samantha was reduced to tears by the result - as were many viewers.

Samantha has thanked the Good Morning Britain team for their help.