Only 60 Windrush victims have received compensation to date
According to a published report, by the end of March only 60 of the 1,275 people who had applied under the scheme established for persons affected by the Windrush scandal had received compensation payments from a fund which is expected ultimately to pay out hundreds of millions to those subjected to the UK government’s restrictive immigration policies.
Under the UK’s “hostile” immigration environment, more than 160 people were mistakenly detained or removed from the country and sent back to countries they had left as children decades earlier. Others lost their jobs and homes and subsequently found themselves ineligible for unemployment benefits despite having paid taxes for decades. Since then, more than 12,000 people have received documentation from the Home Office confirming they are living in the UK legally.
The lack of speed with which offers of compensation have been made by the Home Office has been compounded by the difficulties experienced by those trying to claim compensation and the fact that the amounts paid out appear to be widely disproportionate. According to figures that have been released, payments totalling £360,000 have been made so far, however a single individual received a payment of more than £100,000 which suggests the other 59 compensation recipients will have received payouts averaging £4,400.
When approached for comment the Home Office advised that the payments may represent interim amounts and further instalments may be paid at a later date.
