WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
February 18 2025
WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO

Renewed support for Windrush victims amid calls for stronger oversight

Renewed support for Windrush victims amid calls for stronger oversight

Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has introduced new measures to support victims of the Windrush Scandal by announcing £1.5 million in government grant funding to increase advocacy support for victims applying to the Windrush Compensation Scheme.

This announcement, which includes the appointment of a new Windrush Commissioner to oversee compensation applications, has been stated as a ‘fundamental reset’ of the Government’s approach to the Windrush generation.

The Home Office announced that the new measure is the first step to ‘ensure justice is finally delivered for victims of the Windrush scandals.’ It also emphasized the commitment of the Government to engage more actively with communities affected.

The Windrush scandal emerged in 2018 when it was revealed that the Home Office failed to keep records or issue documentation for Commonwealth citizens with legal residency. As a result, many lost homes, jobs, healthcare access, and were wrongly detained or deported.

As reported by the BBC, the Home Secretary’s announcement has been met with cautious optimism from campaigners who are ‘happy’ with the Government’s approach but are concerned that it lacks ‘teeth’. Concerns have been raised regarding the lack of concrete timelines for implementing key recommendations from the 2020 Windrush Review, led by Wendy Williams, including granting the independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration the authority to publish findings independently and without the Home Secretary’s approval.

The 2020 Windrush Review made 30 recommendations, all initially accepted by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel. In January 2023, her successor Suella Braverman dropped three, including establishing a migrants’ commissioner and expanding powers for the chief inspector. Following legal action, it was ruled that Braverman’s actions were ‘unlawful and conspicuously unfair.’

The Home Secretary also announced that the government has reinstated the Windrush Unit following its manifesto commitment to do so. It is reported by the Guardian that seven people have been hired with the commitment to ensuring that the department ‘maintains humanity’ within its decision-making processes.

The Home Secretary has also chaired a roundtable discussion with stakeholders to set out the government’s commitment to working with those affected and ‘to achieve justice for victims.’ A Home Office source described the measures as the ‘first set of announcements on Windrush since the election’, emphasizing that they focused on ‘priorities raised by campaigners and victims.’

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