Key facts
- Around 70 public figures have signed an open letter calling for the Windrush compensation scheme to be moved from the Home Office.
- The Windrush Justice Community Collective (WJCC) is leading the call for an independent body to oversee the scheme.
- Campaigners highlight that over half of claims have received no compensation, partly due to the denial of free legal aid.
- The average payout for successful claims was £32,100, but legal support significantly increased awards for some claimants.
- The independent Windrush commissioner, Clive Foster, has also called for legal support for claimants and questioned the Home Office's oversight.
Approximately 70 public figures, including politicians, writers, and activists, have signed an open letter urging the UK prime minister and home secretary to remove the Windrush compensation scheme from the Home Office's control. The letter, backed by the Windrush Justice Community Collective (WJCC), calls for a radical overhaul of the scheme, which aims to compensate individuals, predominantly Black Britons, wrongly classified as illegal migrants and denied their rights over decades.
The WJCC and its supporters are advocating for the scheme to be managed by an independent body, overseen by a judge or commissioner. They also demand a statutory public inquiry, non-means-tested legal assistance for claimants, and for survivors to be granted their preferred immigration status, such as citizenship or indefinite leave to remain.
Signatories argue that the denial of free legal support, unlike in the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals, has resulted in over half of claimants receiving no compensation. The letter states that the Home Office continues to harm Black and Asian British citizens, with over 60 people having died while awaiting compensation.
Recent findings from the National Audit Office indicate that some claims initially rejected by the Home Office were later approved and compensated when reconsidered with legal representation. Research by Justice and Dechert LLP highlighted significant increases in compensation offers for claimants who received legal support, with one offer rising from zero to £295,000.
Independent Windrush commissioner Clive Foster has also advised MPs that claimants should receive legal support to ensure fairer outcomes and align the scheme with other state compensation programmes. He noted that placing the compensation scheme under the same department that made the initial errors was misguided.