About 70 public figures have signed an open letter urging the prime minister and home secretary to remove the Windrush compensation scheme from Home Office control. The Windrush Justice Community Collective (WJCC) is calling for a radical overhaul of the scheme, which was established to compensate those, mainly Black Britons, who were wrongly classified as illegal migrants and stripped of citizenship rights over decades.
Call for Independent Oversight
The collective, whose members include Age UK, the Black Equity Organisation, Black Lives Matter UK, the Runnymede Trust, Southwark Law Centre, and the Windrush Justice Clinic, demands that the scheme be placed under an independent body overseen by a judge or commissioner. They also call for a statutory public inquiry, non-means-tested free legal help for Windrush scandal claimants, and for survivors to be granted their preference of citizenship or indefinite leave to remain.
The letter highlights a "complete reset" of the redress scheme is needed, noting that the denial of free legal support to Windrush survivors—unlike victims of the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals—has resulted in over half receiving no compensation.
Signatories and Support
Among the signatories are Labour MPs Clive Lewis and Nadia Whittome, activist Patrick Vernon, writers Afua Hirsch, Charlie Brinkhurst-Cuff, and Reni Eddo-Lodge, musicians Joy Crookes and Akala, sculptor Anish Kapoor, UK Black Pride co-founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Southbank Centre chair Misan Harriman.
The letter states: "The Home Office continues to harm Black and Asian British citizens… Over 60 people have already died waiting for compensation. Each subsequent month of delay costs more lives. Inspired by the solidarity shown by Hillsborough and Grenfell families, we will not stay silent."
Failures Highlighted
Survivors of the Hillsborough and Grenfell disasters have labelled the Windrush compensation scheme a "complete failure." In a letter last month to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, Grenfell United and members of Hillsborough Justice joined forces with WJCC, stating: "Our communities know too well the pain of state betrayal. We have seen loved ones die awaiting justice. We have fought for decades against cover-ups, institutional defensiveness, and a culture that prioritises protecting the government over repairing the harm done to innocent people."
In April, the Guardian revealed that the Home Office had refused compensation for more than half the claims from Windrush survivors. The National Audit Office found the average payout for a successful claim was £32,100, noting that some cases initially turned down were reconsidered and awarded compensation when solicitors refiled them.
Legal Support Needed
Research by Justice and Dechert LLP found that one claimant's offer went from zero to £295,000 with legal support, while another rose from £300 to £170,000. Independent Windrush commissioner Clive Foster told MPs that survivors should receive legal support to reduce denied payouts and align the scheme with other state compensation programmes. He described the Home Office's responsibility for delivering compensation for its own mistakes as misguided.
A WJCC event on Friday at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton is expected to feature speakers including CEO Wanda Wyporska, Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, and survivor Thomas Tobierre, urging the government to act on Foster's call for an overhaul.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The home secretary is determined to put right the appalling injustices caused by the Windrush scandal."
