Home Secretary James Cleverly taken to court for ignoring Windrush review

29 January 2024 , 00:01

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James Cleverly's predecessor as Home Secretary ditched three of the recommendations (Image: PA)

Home Secretary James Cleverly must reconsider the decision to ignore some of the recommendations made by an independent review into the Windrush scandal, campaigners have said.

The Black Equity Organisation will have its legal challenge against the Government's decision to ditch three of 30 recommendations heard in the High Court in April.

Solicitor Wendy Williams published her Windrush Lessons Learned Review in 2020 and all of her recommendations were originally accepted by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel. But in January 2023 it was confirmed that Suella Braverman, who was in post as Home Secretary by that stage, had dropped a commitment to establish a migrants' commissioner, increase the powers of the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration, and to hold reconciliation events.

Campaigners have previously described the axing of these recommendations as a "kick in the teeth to the Windrush generation, to whom our country owes such a huge debt of gratitude".

The scandal erupted in 2018 when British citizens, mostly from the Caribbean, were wrongly detained, deported or threatened with deportation, despite having the right to live in Britain. Many lost homes and jobs, and were denied access to healthcare and benefits.

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In a letter to Mr Cleverly, the BEO said: "As Home Secretary, you have the opportunity to show that you and the Government are serious about righting past wrongs. To do anything less sends a clear message that the suffering of the Windrush generation was in vain and the hostile environment still exists."

Last year, a letter, whose signatories included actor David Harewood, singer Beverley Knight and former athletes Dame Denise Lewis and Colin Jackson, was sent to the Prime Minister branding progress on the commitments to right past wrongs of the scandal "painfully slow".

A Home Office spokesman said: "Five years on, our determination to right the wrongs of the Windrush scandal remains as strong as ever and we have paid out more than £75 million in compensation. We have also made significant progress since Wendy Williams' review and our important work to implement her recommendations continues. It would be inappropriate to comment further on ongoing legal proceedings."

John Stevens