Theresa May’s ‘hostile’ Home Office blamed for Windrush IGNORANT
THE Home Office was guilty of “institutional ignorance” and “thoughtlessness” over the Windrush scandal, a report found.
The inquiry by Wendy Williams, an inspector of constabulary, said mistakes were “foreseeable and avoidable” and blamed ministers and officials.
Theresa May was Home Secretary leading up to the scandal. The report calls for a full review of the “hostile environment” created at the time – tough new rules on migration overseen by the former Prime Minister.
It said there was a “profound institutional failure” that turned people’s lives upside down.
The report was ordered in the wake of the 2017 scandal that saw hundreds of people who came to the UK from the Caribbean threatened with detention and deportation, even though they had a legal right to live in the UK.
The Williams report says the Windrush generation of Caribbean migrants and their children had been,
“poorly served by this country”. It adds: “They had every right to be here and should never have been caught in the immigration net.
“The many stories of injustice and hardship are heartbreaking, with jobs lost, lives uprooted and untold damage done to so many individuals and families.
“However, despite the scandal taking the Home Office by surprise, my report sets out what happened to those affected by Windrush was foreseeable and avoidable.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday said she apologised unreservedly for the, “unimaginable suffering” caused by the failings.
But Ms Williams said even when stories started to emerge of how
people were being mistreated, the Home Office was “too slow to react.” She cited a culture of “disbelief and carelessness” when dealing with the Windrush generation, who were “failed when they needed help most”.
She added: “I have serious concerns these failings demonstrate an institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness towards the issue of race and the history of the Windrush generation within the department, which are consistent with some elements of the definition of institutional racism.” The report makes 30 recommendations to improve how the Home Office deals with immigration – including a full review of Ms May’s rules.
Labour MP David Lammy said the report was a, “brutal indictment of the Home Office”. He added what happened was not a mistake or an accident but a “systemic” pattern of behaviour “rooted in a toxic culture”.
Ms May said: “I gave my apology previously and I do so again today.”
WENDY WILLIAMS ON THE WINDRUSH SCANDAL
Many stories of injustice, hardship and lives uprooted