Government told to speed up 'woeful' payment scheme for Windrush scandal victims
Rishi Sunak has been warned by celebrities and campaigners to immediately speed up the "woeful" compensation scheme for victims of the Windrush scandal.
The call comes in an open letter signed by singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, actor Colin McFarlane, and rapper AJ Tracey. The Justice4Windrush campaign is demanding "full and swift compensation", as the five-year anniversary of the scheme being launched in April 2019 approaches.
The scandal saw the lives of British citizens, mostly from the Caribbean, torn apart. They were denied access to healthcare, benefits, lost jobs, and threatened with deportation despite having the right to live in the UK.
The open letter to the PM and Labour leader Keir Starmer urges them to commit to an "independent neutral body" to oversee payments in their election manifestos. It states that the Home Office estimated around 15,000 people would qualify for compensation when the scheme launched in 2019.
But the latest Government data from November 2023 shows just 1,018 preliminary claims had been paid - less than a fifth of all claims with final decisions at that stage. Of claims in the Home Office system, some 13% had been waiting at least 12 months to be processed.
Out of touch Rishi Sunak doesn't regularly read papers or online news sites
McFarlane said: “The Home Office scandal that impacted the Windrush generation is not over. Yet 90% of the country think it is." He added: "The woeful 2019 compensation scheme has added insult to injury and merely prolonged the trauma and is yet another illustration of decades long discrimination by the Home Office against migrants of colour. We need justice for the Windrush generation, now.”
Lennox said: “With #Justice4Windrush, we want to put the issue of Windrush front and centre, to ensure that the Windrush generation are seen, heard and healed. Bigotry, hatred and racism have pervaded the British establishment for too long. We need to put an immediate stop to the tragic injustice of this Home Office Scandal. Windrush victims deserve nothing less.”
Other high-profile supporters include actress Hannah Waddingham and television presenter Jay Blades. Martin Forde KC - a legal adviser to the group who also advised the Home Office on the payment scheme - added: "The Windrush Compensation Scheme has left many victims in a state of limbo.
"We have heard stories of individuals being wrongly denied tens of thousands of pounds’ worth of compensation, and of families whose lives have been torn apart while they await an outcome. This is unacceptable and we are calling on the Home Office to move quickly to deliver compensation for eligible Windrushees.”
A Home Office spokesman said: "The Government remains absolutely committed to righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal and making sure those affected receive the compensation they rightly deserve. We have paid more than £75 million in compensation and we continue to make improvements so people receive the maximum award as quickly as possible, whilst providing extensive support to help people access and apply to the compensation scheme.
"The scheme will remain open as long as it is needed, so no-one is prevented from making a claim. We are continuing to reach out to, and engage with, communities across the UK to encourage more people to come forward, ensuring they have correct information on whether they may be eligible and necessary guidance to support their application."
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