Windrush Victims will Receive at Least £10,000

The government will give more money to victims of the Windrush scandal. The scandal, which saw hundreds of people wrongly threatened with deportation, led to the UK government offering compensation to the victims.

Home Secretary, Priti Patel, announced on Monday that the minimum payment will rise from £250 to £10,000, and the maximum will rise from £10,000 to £100,000. And in “exceptional” circumstances, the figure will be higher still.

What was the Windrush Scandal?

The Windrush scandal mainly affected UK citizens originally from the Caribbean. They were granted Indefinite Leave to Remain in 1971, but thousands were children who had travelled to the UK on their parents’ passports. As a result, many people were unable to prove their right to live in the UK.

In 2012, under the then Home Secretary, Theresa May, introduced the “hostile environment” immigration policies which laid the groundwork for the Windrush scandal.

When the scandal broke in 2018, it soon became clear that many of those affected had lost homes and jobs and had been denied healthcare and state benefits.

“Substantial Changes”

Priti Patel told the House of Commons that there would be “substantial changes” to the Windrush Compensation Scheme after a consultation with the Windrush Working Group.

Patel said:

“I’ve always promised to listen and act to ensure that the victims of Windrush receive the maximum amount of compensation they deserve.

It’s my mission to correct the wrongs of the past and I will continue to work with the Windrush Working Group to do exactly that.”

Those who were previously given less than £10,000 will now receive top-up payments. The Home Office is also removing the 12 months’ salary limit on compensation for earnings which were lost by people who are forced out of their jobs.

It is estimated that 500,000 people living in the UK make up the surviving members of the Windrush generation. An Equality and Human Rights Commission report released last month said that government action to “record and respond to negative equality impacts” of hostile environment immigration policies had been “perfunctory, and therefore insufficient”.

Bishop Derek Webley, who chaired the Windrush Working Group, said:

“Many will benefit from the relief that these new payments will provide, and begin to move forward with their lives with hope and determination.”

Windrush victims will now receive at least £10,000 compensation. [Image credit: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images]