Seven years after the Windrush scandal first emerged, campaigners have declared it remains a profound stain on British society during an emotional event at the House of Lords. Hosted by Baroness Floella Benjamin, the gathering heard powerful testimonies from those whose lives were devastated by Home Office errors that wrongly classified them as illegal immigrants.
A Legacy of Injustice and Trauma
Despite repeated government promises to rectify the situation, Lady Benjamin stated the injustices remain largely unresolved, leaving many affected individuals trapped in an ongoing nightmare. The event highlighted a stark contrast with the relatively swift compensation paid to victims of the Post Office scandal, intensifying calls for urgent reform of the Windrush redress scheme.
Several individuals shared harrowing accounts of their experiences. One Londoner, who asked not to be named, described a 13-year battle to prove his legal status after arriving from Nigeria as a child in 1978. Despite obtaining an MBA and building a successful career as a software engineer in the UK, he was threatened with deportation.
Hetticia McIntosh provided another devastating testimony. Having travelled from Barbados as a child to join her mother, a nurse recruited under Enoch Powell's NHS drive, she served in the British army before having her status revoked due to a Home Office mistake. She and her husband Vanderbilt, who suffered a similar fate, were forced to relocate to St Lucia for decades, separated from their family in the UK.
Call for a People's Inquiry and Scheme Overhaul
Frustrated by the continued refusal of successive governments to launch a formal Hillsborough-style inquiry, campaigners announced they will initiate a 'people's inquiry' early next year. This independent investigation aims to examine the Home Office's culture and the ongoing failures of the compensation scheme.
Adding significant weight to calls for change, Martin Forde KC, the original architect of the Windrush compensation scheme in 2018, announced he is ready to help campaigners suggest a radical redesign. He expressed that officials had displayed a 'woeful lack of commitment' to his initial scheme. 'We have been too passive for too long,' Forde stated, adding that it was time to 'shame and embarrass' the Home Office into paying the compensation owed.
Hetticia McIntosh, who along with her husband has been refused compensation three times between 2021 and this year, emphasised the inhumanity of the process. 'We lived here, we grew here, we worked here. We got no answers,' she said, calling for systemic change and legal aid for applicants.
Official Responses and the Path Forward
Clive Foster, the recently appointed Windrush commissioner, reported that in his first 100 days he has met over 700 affected people across the UK. 'Seven years on, sadly the Home Office Windrush scandal is not in the rear-view mirror,' he said. 'Every conversation I've had reinforces the need for urgency. Survivors shouldn't have to be retraumatised by the very process that's there to serve them justice.'
He also revealed he has addressed thousands of Home Office staff with a simple message: compassion and humanity must guide every policy and casework decision.
While Home Office minister David Hanson was unable to attend, he sent a letter reiterating the government's determination to deliver justice. He stated that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is committed to embedding 'cultural change within the Home Office.' However, for the victims and campaigners present, words are no longer enough without concrete action and a complete overhaul of the system that continues to fail them.
