How can the government hold such little regard for the victims of the Windrush scandal?

On Monday, during the debate on the Windrush Compensation Scheme Bill, I asked why some of my constituents had died before receiving the compensation they were owed from the government for their treatment as Windrush citizens. I wanted to know how many others had died without receiving any sort of justice. No amount of money could repay the harm that was inflicted, but to die without even recognition is a disgrace on this government. Either the Home Secretary doesn’t know the answer to my question, or she is ashamed. Only £62,198 has been paid out to just 36 victims in over two years, despite the Scheme’s Impact Assessment estimate of the total compensation costs ranging between £120m – £310m. More than 5,000 people have been left without anything. People were wrongly made jobless, destitute, homeless, and denied access to public services like healthcare and education. The prominent Windrush campaigner, Patrick Vernon OBE, suggested a ’10-point plan’ including the creation of easy-to-read compensation application forms, Home Office funding to community groups, faith, and small civil society organisations, and automatic payments of £10,000 for anyone directly affected by the Windrush Scandal. You can read the full requirements that the government should adopt on Patrick Vernon OBE’s 38 degrees campaign here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/restorative-compensation-scheme-for-windrush-scandalThe government has said that righting the wrong for the Windrush generation is their priority, so how can they have such little regard for those who have been seriously affected? The first thing that the government must do is to urgently publish these figures and be fully transparent. They owe it to the families fighting for their loved ones.

Posted by Thangam Debbonaire on Wednesday, February 12, 2020