“ The Windrush scandal and the role of the Home Secretary and now Prime Minister Theresa May, requires a public inquiry to examine how she designed and implemented the hostile environment at the expense of the Black community in Britain which has created a back-door repatriation”
This was the immediate reaction of Windrush activist Dr Patrick Vernon on receipt of the Report of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the British House of Commons in which British lawmakers issued a damming indictment of the Home Office, accusing the Department of shirking its responsibility to put right the wrongs suffered by victims of the Windrush scandal.
In a scathing Report on the scandal and its aftermath, the PAC – a cross party committee of the British Parliament – accused the Home Office of being complacent in its response and of failing to take ownership for resolving issues caused by its own mistake. The Report said the Home Office was aware of this through case inquiries from citizens and their MPs. Yet the Department failed in its duty to protect the rights of people to live, work and access services and benefits in the UK when designing and implementing its immigration policies.
This failure was compounded by the Department’s lack of action when there were clear warnings that the members of the Windrush generation, many of whom were elderly and vulnerable were being denied their rights.
Referring to the task force set up by the Department, the so-called “lessons learned” review, the MPs said while this belated flurry of activity may help some of those who have identified themselves, it does nothing to tackle the systemic issues that led to the problems in the first place. Rather than taking full responsibility to resolve the problem it has caused, it is being complacent, neglecting to identify those affected and denying people support to rebuild their lives.
The lawmakers further chastised the Home Office for its lack of concern about the real-world impact of immigration policies by what they said was its systemic failure to keep accurate records, meaning British citizens or people with leave to remain in the UK did not have the paperwork to prove it declaring:
“We do not believe the Department is doing enough to address the appalling defects in its systems, processes and data quality which contributed to the scandal.”
The Report also took the Home Office to task for its lack of a sense of urgency noting that it has taken 8 months to set up an “urgent “ hardship fund; and its compensation scheme is still not operating over a year since the Windrush scandal first broke. According to PAC Chairwoman Meg Hillier, “the Department could not tell us when the scheme would be launched. Many of those in need of help are elderly and vulnerable and cannot afford to wait any longer.” She continued:
“ It is deeply regrettable that a scandal of this magnitude on the back of repeated and unheeded warnings does not appear to have fully shaken the Home Office out of its complacency about its systemic and cultural problems. This must change now. Our report sets out action the Home Office should take to put right the wrongs of Windrush, properly address potential cases in the wider Commonwealth and ensure the Department’s systems are fit for purpose in future.”
The Pac Chairwoman concluded: “We expect a swift and positive response to our recommendations”.
See link to the full text of the report: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmpubacc/1518/151803.htm
In his statement issued to jamaicaglobalonline within minutes of the release of the report shortly after 6 p.m. Jamaica time on Tuesday March 5, Vernon who gave written evidence to the PAC said:
“The report by the Committee of Public Accounts of the British House of Commons is yet another damming revelation of the failure of the Home Office and systematic ill-treatment of the Windrush Generation and their dependents. This must be one of the most shocking abuses of human rights and institutionalized racism since the HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury in the UK on 22nd of June 1948. Only recently we reached the 20th anniversary of the McPherson Report which looked at the murder and police failure in the handling of Stephen Lawrence , a teenager of Jamaican heritage who died in 1993 at the hands of racists and which was covered up by the Metropolitan Police.”
Turning to the issue of Charter flights, Vernon said:
“ It is still scandalous today that the government is still continuing with the deportation flights with several of the Windrush Generation and their children being treated as criminals by the Home Office. I hope now, that the Jamaican government will refuse further endorsement and permission for these charter flights to land in Jamaica pending a public enquiry and full review of all cases. Finally, I hope the forthcoming Windrush compensation scheme is well funded and gives the maximum payment to cover the financial and emotional loss that many individuals and families have suffered over the years.”
