Record number of Windrush compensation claims rejected

Windrush scandal victims have been left distraught after the latest Home Office figures suggest a record number of compensation claims have been rejected – despite the Government accepting the claimants are victims.

In 2023, there were more than 2,000 claims where victims received a “zero payment” – more than double over the same period in 2022.

This is despite a Government guarantee that those who are eligible would receive full compensation nearly five years ago.

Kemi Abiona told i his father died before receiving any compensation from the Home Office, despite the Government accepting he was a victim of the scandal.

Taiwo Abiona worked as a postman for the Royal Mail and got a British passport in the 1960s after arriving from Nigeria years earlier.

But after he went to renew his passport, he was told he was no longer a British citizen.

“It all had a massive impact on my dad’s health. If he knew he’d get compensated it would have lifted spirits and given him hope, maybe a new lease of life. We would have been able to afford to pay for his care,” Mr Abiona said.

In December 2020, his father died two weeks after being told by the Home Office he could stay in the UK.

Mr Abiona added: “I phoned up the Home Office and asked for an advance on the compensation. They gave dad £5,000 towards his own burial.

“We were given it under the impression there was more to come but that never happened. The whole experience left me suicidal.”

Mr Abiona is still pursuing compensation to pay for the rest of the costs for his dad’s funeral. According to the Government, 53 victims have died while waiting to hear back from the Home Office regarding their claim.

The Windrush scandal affected those who arrived on the HMT Empire Windrush in 1948, who had been denied citizenship despite living in the UK legally for most of their lives, and their relatives and children who are entitled to compensation.

The term, the Windrush generation, has since been used to refer to Commonwealth nationals who settled in the UK before 1973.

Experts told i this was a byproduct of the Government’s “hostile environment” policy, when a clampdown on immigration led to the Windrush generation being classified as illegal immigrants.

When the scandal first broke in April 2018, it triggered the resignation of Home Secretary Amber Rudd – with then-Prime Minister, Theresa May saying she was “genuinely sorry for any anxiety that has been caused.”

Speaking at the Windrush Review Lessons Learned Review in March 2020, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel said the Government had “developed a compensation scheme that is straightforward to use.”

“There is no cap on payments, dozens of which have already been made, and we encourage more applications. Those who are eligible will receive full compensation,” she said.

But according to the latest statistics, only 1,932 people have received compensation so far, out of an estimated 15,700 Windrush victims.

Since 2018, 88 per cent of victims are yet to receive any payout – while an increasing number of victims identified as being “eligible” to apply for compensation are being awarded zero pay out.

The Labour shadow cabinet have called for “urgent action” to be taken by the Conservative government to pay Windrush victims.

Shadow Immigration Minister Stephen Kinnock told i: “That 88 pder cent of victims are still waiting for compensation has compounded the original injustice of the Windrush scandal.”

“The Conservative government made serious promises to the Windrush generation who have given so much to this country. There now must be urgent action to ensure that all who are owed money receive it – and where it is sadly too late for some – that it is quickly paid to their family members.”

Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP also told i: “The Home Office seems determined to continue with the same incompetence and cruelty that led to this scandal in the first place. Repeated apologies from Conservative Ministers clearly meant nothing if they won’t keep their promises and learn from their mistakes.”

Lawyers taking Windrush compensation cases say the Government has acted in “bad faith” when processing the claims.

Nicola Burgess, an immigration lawyer at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU) told i: “When the scheme was launched the Home Office, she said it would be straightforward for applicants and they could fill in the applications without legal help. In practice, it has not worked like that at all.”

“The applications are 44 pages long, and legal expertise is needed to help provide impact statements, get expert evidence from accountants and psychologists, and this is all very costly.

“There is a high threshold for evidence, and many claimants struggle to provide evidence for things like loss of income, which can be very difficult to prove without expertise and with no paper trail.

“There is still a culture of disbelief within the Home Office. They are acting against the spirit of the scheme which was set up to right a wrong which the Home Office accepted was their fault. Without legal help, applications get refused and zero claims are wrongly awarded to victims.”

One of those who has been given a zero claim, despite being earmarked as a victim of the Windrush scandal is Carl Nwazota, who told i he has been “waiting six years for compensation.”

Mr Nwazota had his passport confiscated by the Home Office after he tried to renew it in 2000, leading to him losing his job and home because he had no legal right to work or live in the UK. This led to bouts of depression, and he tried to take his own life.

The Home Office returned his passport in 2022, and in documents seen by i, Mr Nwazota was told by officials that he meets the eligibility criteria to apply for compensation.

However, he has been awarded zero compensation four times because the Home Office were unable to determine “whether he suffered detrimental impacts” due to a lack of evidence.

Mr Nwazota said: “I want solicitor to do it because when I try, my application gets rejected. But none of us can get legal aid and most people can’t afford a lawyer to take their cases.”

“The Home Office first tried to ruin my life after they stole my passport. Now they’re trying to destroy my life again by promising compensation they never plan on paying. They keep putting hurdles in the way. It’s torture.

“I just want to get on with my life now. I’m back working as a building contractor, and I’ve been accepted on a course to become a social care worker. I wanted to do something where I could give back – despite everything the Home Office has done to stop me – I’m continuing with my life.”

i reached out to the Home Office regarding the cases of Mr Nwazota and Mr Abiona but they declined to comment, before adding: “The Government remains absolutely committed to righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal and making sure those affected receive the compensation they rightly deserve.”