Coalition of campaigners demands Windrush compensation scheme be moved from Home Office
Survivors and advocacy groups describe the current administration as a failure, citing high denial rates and delays that have cost lives.
Approximately 70 public figures have signed an open letter urging the prime minister and the home secretary to transfer control of the Windrush compensation scheme from the Home Office to an independent body overseen by a judge or commissioner. The campaign, led by the Windrush Justice Community Collective (WJCC) and supported by organisations including Age UK, Black Lives Matter UK, and the Runnymede Trust, demands a radical overhaul of the redress mechanism established to compensate those wrongly stripped of citizenship rights.
The letter calls for a statutory public inquiry, non-means-tested free legal assistance for claimants, and the right for survivors to choose between citizenship or indefinite leave to remain. It highlights that the denial of free legal support, unlike in the Post Office Horizon and infected blood scandals, has resulted in the Home Office refusing compensation for more than half of the claims made. The signatories, which include Labour MPs Clive Lewis and Nadia Whittome, writers Afua Hirsch and Reni Eddo-Lodge, and artist Anish Kapoor, describe the current process as a “complete reset” necessity.
The urgency of the campaign is underscored by the letter’s assertion that over 60 claimants have died while awaiting compensation. It notes that each subsequent month of delay costs more lives, drawing parallels to the solidarity shown by families affected by the Hillsborough and Grenfell disasters. Survivors of those tragedies have joined the call, labelling the Windrush scheme a “complete failure” and citing the pain of state betrayal and institutional defensiveness.
Data from the National Audit Office reveals that the average payout for a successful claim was £32,100, while research by the legal reform charity Justice and law firm Dechert LLP indicates that legal support significantly increases payout amounts. One claimant’s offer rose from zero to £295,000 with legal representation, while another increased from £300 to £170,000. The NAO report noted that some cases initially turned down by the Home Office were reconsidered and awarded compensation when solicitors filed the same cases.
Independent Windrush Commissioner Clive Foster told MPs this month that survivors should be given legal support to reduce the number of denied payouts and align the scheme with other state compensation programmes. Foster stated that the decision to make the Home Office responsible for delivering compensation for mistakes made by its own staff was “misguided”. A WJCC event is scheduled for Friday at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton, featuring speakers including MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy and survivor Thomas Tobierre, to urge the government to act on these calls for reform.
A Home Office spokesperson responded to the growing pressure by stating that the home secretary is determined to put right the appalling injustices caused by the Windrush scandal. However, the coalition maintains that without independent oversight and accessible legal aid, the current structure remains fundamentally flawed.