Victims concerned over missing Windrush reform

Windrush campaigners have expressed concern that the home secretary has yet to announce when she will implement a key recommendation from the government’s review.

On Thursday, Yvette Cooper announced an additional £1.5m of funding to help victims apply for compensation overseen by a Windrush Commissioner - but did not hand over recommended powers to a watchdog.

Campaigners told the BBC they were happy with Labour's approach, but thought the new system lacked "teeth".

A Home Office source described the changes as the “first set of announcements on Windrush since the election,” adding that the focus had been on priorities highlighted by campaigners and victims.

The Windrush Review's report, published by Wendy Williams in 2020, made 30 recommendations which were all adopted by then home secretary Priti Patel.

But in January 2023, her successor Suella Braverman dropped three of them, including establishing a migrants' commissioner role and giving the immigration watchdog - the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration - the power to publish its own reports.

The watchdog currently has the power to carry out investigations, but the findings can only be published by the home secretary.

Following a legal challenge by Windrush victim Trevor Donald, a judge in June condemned Braverman's actions as “conspicuously unfair".

On Thursday, Cooper announced a Windrush commissioner would be appointed, but did not mention the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.

In February the then-chief inspector David Neal was sacked for leaking reports he had written that he claimed the Home Office was sitting on.

At the time, Cooper who was still in opposition said a “series of Conservative home secretaries have sought to bury uncomfortable truths revealed by the chief inspector”.

On Thursday, Cooper said she was “changing the government's approach” to “ensure a scandal of this kind can never happen again and dignity can be restored to those so tragically affected”.

A Home Office source said this was the “first set of announcements on Windrush since the election” and said the focus had been on priorities raised by campaigners and victims.

They indicated that a new Windrush Unit, also announced today, could look at how to implement the final recommendation.

Following today’s announcement Cooper met representatives of Windrush campaign groups.

Some of those present welcomed the tone of the home secretary and said the new government appeared to “get” what it was that campaigners were looking for.

But they said there was no mention of when the Home Office would look at more powers for the chief inspector.

One said that the chief inspector needs to “have teeth” and be able to hold ministers to account “in a proper way”.

They said today’s meeting “marked the beginning” of relations between the new Labour government.

Campaigners said that Cooper had made it clear there were still parts of the Home Office that needed to change.

Another said the meeting was “uplifting” compared to ones held with Conservative ministers, but said the chief inspector “needs to be able to publish its findings” in order to prevent a similar scandal happening again.

The Windrush scandal emerged in 2018 when Commonwealth citizens, mostly from the Caribbean, were wrongly detained, deported or threatened with deportation despite having the right to live and work in the UK.

It was discovered that the Home Office had kept no records of those granted permission to stay and had not issued the paperwork they needed to confirm their status.

Many lost homes and jobs and were denied access to healthcare and benefits.

The government apologised in 2018, when it launched the Williams’ review.