Windrush was ‘foreseeable and avoidable’

REPORT: ‘Systematic operational failings’ at Home Office blamed for causing scandal

The Windrush scandal was “foreseeable and avoidable” and victims were let down by “systemic operational failings” at the Home Office, according to a report.

The UK Government department demonstrated “institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness” towards the issue of race and the history of the Windrush generation but the actions did not satisfy all of the features of institutional racism, findings from a critical independent review said.

Author Wendy Williams told reporters: “Warning signs from both inside and outside the Home Office were apparent for a number of years, and even when stories began to emerge in 2017 in the media about high-profile injustices, I have concluded that the Home Office was still too slow to react.

“I talk about a culture of disbelief and carelessness when dealing with applications. This was born out of a conviction that the hostile environment policy would be effective, was effective, and should be pursued at all costs.

“I have also talked about a culture of ignorance and thoughtlessness when dealing with matters of race, the Windrush generation, their history and circumstances. The Windrush generation were let down by systemic operational failings by the Home Office.”

The Home Office identified 164 people deported or put in detention since 2002 amid the Windrush scandal, records said. A compensation scheme with an estimated budget of at least £200 million has been set up.

Picture: PA. Jamaican immigrants aboard the ex-troopship HMT Empire Windrush landing at Tilbury.