I am the widow of one of the Windrush generation who worked tirelessly, and voluntarily, to help mainly Black people establish their legal rights in the UK. I was appalled to read that this unit is to be disbanded (Unit tasked with reforming Home Office after Windrush scandal being disbanded, 19 June). My husband, George Powe, who died almost 10 years ago, would have been cautiously optimistic about the proposals made in the Windrush Lessons Learned review by Wendy Williams, but aghast at this latest move.
Countless research shows that Black people in this country are overrepresented as being disadvantaged in terms of health, lifespan, adequate housing, education, Covid issues etc. The Wendy Williams review was set up to define the issues raised by the decades-long oppression and disadvantage experienced by the Windrush generation and their descendants, and to recommend measures that should be taken to ensure that they should be addressed. It was approved by the government of the day.
That the announcement that it is time to “move on” was made by Suella Braverman in the very week of the 75th anniversary of the Empire Windrush’s arrival at Tilbury Docks, rubs salt into the wounds.
Windrush Day, on 22 June, will be joyously celebrated at an unprecedented number of events this week all over the country. You can be sure that the cynicism of this latest governmental failure will be at the top of the agenda.
Jill Westby
Nottingham
• I was shocked but not surprised to read your very worrying article. If the reports are correct, the Home Office will be abdicating its responsibility to right the wrongs done to the Windrush generation and protect future generations from its cruel and discredited “hostile environment” strategy.
Refusing to implement all the recommendations from the Wendy Williams review, the lamentable administration of the compensation scheme, which has seen some victims die before their claims were resolved, and now the scrapping of the unit tasked with making sure another Windrush scandal never happens, speaks to a troubling pattern of behaviour from the home secretary.
If only the victims who lost their livelihoods and citizenship, were barred from NHS care, detained and, in some cases, deported, could so easily “move on”.
As we approach the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush, the generations affected by the Windrush scandal will feel the same chill of hostility and state disinterest that greeted many of those original pioneers.
The prime minister must step in and ensure that the Windrush generation and future migrants aren’t left at the mercy of a Home Office that appears to care little for their service, struggle or rights.
Dr Wanda Wyporska
CEO, Black Equity Organisation, London
• On the day you reported that the Home Office has disbanded the Windrush unit, the Treasury announced that a new commemorative 50p coin marking the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush has been released by the Royal Mint. It is if they are saying: “We made you unemployed and homeless, we denied you healthcare and we deported you, but it will all be OK because we have put your image on a coin.”
Dr Steve Cushion
Institute of the Americas, University College London
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