The Windrush compensation scheme should be the responsibility of an independent body, and not the Home Office, said the co-founder of a Hackney-based organisation which supports the African Caribbean community.
Claudia Philips, co-founder of the Claudia Jones Organisation, said that “people are dying before they can be compensated”. She added that it was “ really hard for victims to feel that they’re going to get justice”.
Ms Philips said that the group had worked with one 85-year-old man who had accepted a smaller amount than he should have got because “he didn’t want to die and not get anything”.
“Just 5%,” of Windrush generation compensated
The scheme was launched to help those affected by the Windrush scandal who did not have the right documentation to prove their right to remain in the UK. This was intended to compensate victims who suffered a loss of earnings or had been wrongfully detained.
However, a Home Affairs Committee report revealed just 5% of the eligible Windrush generation had been successfully compensated by the Home Office. At least 23 victims have died so far without being paid.
Commenting on the Home Office’s handling of the scheme, Ms Philips said: “It’s a bit like you being your own judge and jury. If the scheme was independent, then I think people would feel as though they were getting a fair assessment.”
Support in Parliament
Ms Philip’s calls echo those of Diane Abbott, Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP, who condemned the findings of the report and the Home Office’s handling of the scheme in a parliamentary debate last Thursday, 3 March. The former Shadow Home Secretary accused the government of “waiting for this generation to pass away”.
In response to Ms Abbott’s comments, Kevin Foster, Home Office minister, said that the programme had paid out £36m to a total of 940 victims. Almost 15,000 victims are thought to qualify for the compensation scheme.
