Campaigners and supporters have gathered for a vigil to mark the sixth anniversary of the Windrush scandal being exposed and to “remember those who have died without redress”.
More than 50 people gathered at Windrush Square in Brixton for the event, which was organised by groups supporting victims of the scandal including the Windrush National Organisation (WNO), the Black Cultural Archives and Churches Together in England.
The Windrush scandal, which came to national attention in 2018, caused thousands of people to be wrongfully designated as living illegally in the UK, despite being British citizens. This led people, mainly of Caribbean origin, to lose their jobs and access to healthcare and housing, with some being detained and deported from the UK.
The government apologised for its role in the scandal in 2018 and promised to compensate those affected. However, six years on, the chair of the Birmingham-based WNO, Bishop Dr Desmond Jaddoo, said “the fallout from the Windrush scandal is still ongoing”.
“It is important to note that the journey towards justice continues and that this scandal does not define the rich contribution of the Windrush generation in putting the ‘Great’ back into ‘Britain’,” he said. “However, it does define the way in which the Windrush generation and descendants have been and continue to be treated.”
Jaddoo said the WNO had supported more than 2,000 people affected by the scandal, of which a “few hundred” have applied for compensation.
Just over £80m had been paid out across 2,233 claims by the end of January this year, according to Home Office data.
Jaddoo said: “The true impact is still unknown and it is essential that as we approach a general election that the impact of this scandal remains on the agenda of all of the political parties and government and we hold them to account.”
The director of the WNO, Glenda Caesar, said the Windrush generation would “always be remembered as the pioneers of our community” and called for there to be a public inquiry into the scandal.
Caesar arrived legally in the UK at the age of three in 1961 from Dominica but was denied the right to work and access benefits for almost a decade.
Windrush victims, such as Caesar, have called on the government to speed up and increase compensation as concerns persist that elderly members of the Windrush generation may miss out on payments. The government admitted earlier this year at least 53 Windrush claimants had died before receiving compensation.
The managing director of the Black Cultural Archives, Lisa Anderson, urged the government to implement the recommendations from the formal inquiry into the scandal.
The government announced it was not going to implement three recommendations from a report by the head of the inquiry last year, including the introduction of a migrants’ commissioner and reconciliation events, despite initially agreeing to them.
The campaigner Patrick Vernon said: “We still do not know the true impact of the psychological and traumatic impact of the hostile environment policy on the minds, bodies and survival of the Windrush generation.”
The Home Office said the Windrush compensation scheme would remain open as long as it is needed so that no one was prevented from making a claim.
A spokesperson said: “The government is committed to righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal and making sure those affected receive the compensation they rightly deserve. We continue to make improvements so people receive the maximum award as quickly as possible, while providing extensive support to help people access and apply to the compensation scheme.”
