The Home Office has granted a man who has lived in the UK since he was a child the right to remain under the Windrush scheme after a battle of almost 50 years.
Samuel Jarrett-Coker, 61, arrived in the UK at the age of 13 in 1976 from Sierra Leone on the diplomatic passport of his brother, who was 20 years older than him and worked in the country’s embassy in London.
He has spent almost his entire life in the UK and has four British children and seven British grandchildren living in the UK. He said he feared being made homeless and deported because he said the Home Office never responded to his repeated requests, dating back to the 1980s, to resolve his immigration status.
He decided to have one last try to regularise his status and this week received a letter from the Home Office saying that his right to remain in the UK under the Windrush policy had been confirmed and that he could apply to the Windrush compensation scheme for any losses owing to not having been able to demonstrate his lawful status in the UK.
He recently received a warning from the housing association that runs his home in west London, saying said his accommodation was at risk because he could not prove his right to rent, owing to his lack of a passport.
He shared the property with his British partner and the tenancy was in her name, but she died in 2023 and since then he has not been able to produce documentation proving his right to rent.
“Originally, I got a stamp in my Sierra Leone passport, but when I sent the passport to the Home Office to be updated I never got any reply and never got my passport back, even though I wrote several letters about it to the Home Office asking what was happening,” Jarrett-Coker said.
Until he received the letter from the Home Office confirming his rights under the Windrush scheme he said he had been overwhelmed with anxiety about his immigration status and had struggled to eat or sleep. “I’ve paid my taxes and national insurance all my life and have been working since the age of 16. I take pride in knowing I have made a contribution to British society. I could not imagine having to leave my children and grandchildren.”
“When the Home Office confirmed I can stay here this week I felt elated. I am almost 62 years old and I am only now able to give my life meaning without feeling trapped in a cage.”
His solicitor, Naga Kandiah of MTC Solicitors, welcomed the news. “For almost 50 years Samuel has carried the unbearable weight of uncertainty, facing the threat of homelessness and deportation and the anguish of being torn apart from his British family. This long overdue recognition finally grants him the security, stability and dignity he has been denied for almost five decades.”
The minister for migration and citizenship, Seema Malhotra, said: “I am determined to put right the appalling injustices caused by the Windrush scandal. Cases like Mr Jarrett-Coker’s demonstrate why we must act with urgency to support those affected in receiving the compensation and documentation they rightfully deserve.
“We continue to help eligible individuals access our status scheme, ensuring they can prove their right to be in the UK. This is about restoring dignity to those who have suffered for far too long.”
