A Windrush commissioner has warned “hurry for justice” that more victims of the scandal will die without compensation, while stakeholders are calling for a public inquiry and legislative changes amid fears a reform government could block progress towards justice.
Speaking at the People’s Inquiry Symposium for those affected by the Windrush scandal, Rev Clive Foster He said action was needed “now” to bring justice to British residents whose lives have been left in disarray after being wrongly classified as illegal immigrants.
“Whether we see the political scene or not, I think the period is too long and that’s the impetus for us to push for justice,” said Foster, a Nottingham-based pastor whose parents came to the UK from Jamaica in 1959 and who was appointed to oversee the government’s response to the scandal.
“We are losing a lot of that generation who suffered and time is not on our side,” he added. “I am a man in a hurry for justice.”
The second People’s Inquiry Symposium, held in North London on Saturday, will bring together victims, campaigners and advocates to create pathways to justice with victims’ voices, while putting pressure on the government. A statutory public hearing Into the scandal.
The The Windrush scandal It was brought to public attention in 2017 by investigative reporting by the Guardian, which revealed thousands of legal UK residents being falsely labeled as immigration criminals. Government schemes for immigration status and compensation for those affected have since granted documentation to 17,000 people and received compensation payments of 2,600 out of 8,800 claims by July 2024.
Six months after Foster’s appointment, the Labor Party, which pledged to improve the government’s response, adopted many of his recommendations to reform the Windrush compensation scheme. But, years into the scandal, many still struggle to navigate the process, which has been described as inefficient, bureaucratic and retraumatizing.
Among those still affected is Deborah, who has been supporting her brother in Barbados for decades since he was unable to return to the UK after becoming a Commonwealth citizen in 1966. “He didn’t leave with the intention of never coming back,” said Deborah, who asked that her last name be withheld.
Last year she got orders Home Office Applying for the Windrush scheme, unknown to family members, became shorthand for scandal when her mother did not turn up on the Windrush boat that took thousands of people from the Caribbean to the UK in 1948. Deborah’s claim was rejected, missing the necessary evidence. In recent months, she traveled to Barbados to gather documents to support her brother’s case.
“There’s a lot of neglect,” Deborah said. “There needs to be a public hearing and not just an apology, but victims’ voices heard and heard and the obvious.”
While some people became agitated on Saturday A change in labor immigration policy They fear it will create a “next-generation windrush”, while others, such as campaigner Garik Pryog, say legislative change is the only solution.
“If we don’t get legislation before the next general election, what will happen if we get reforms?” It calls for changes to the current negative environmental policy that led to the Praoag scandal.
If the founder of Windrush Day, Patrick Vernonhe said the current Labor government did not appear to be moving towards relaxing the existing immigration policy, adding that there were other changes as well as legislation, including a public inquiry and moving the compensation scheme away from the Home Office.
“Why are blacks given less money, less legal aid, less support?” Vernon cited the post office and infected blood scandals. “Why are we being treated differently?”
He added: “You get better service with Ryanair than with Home Office.”
