People of Windrush will still be affected

WHOEVER is responsible and whatever were the circumstances behind the Windrush generation scandal, politicians are falling over themselves to sound compassionate, aggrieved, indignant and ameliorative, now saying they’ll give citizenship to the Windrush generation and their children for free.

This is not irrelevant to our region where since the arrival of Mr Euton Christian (returning from leave on the Empire Windrush, having joined the RAF during the war) pioneers in the community have served in many roles including JPs, Mayors of Trafford and Manchester, and Deputy Lord Lieutenant, as well as a wide range of social responsibilities, serving the whole local community.

But it is others without their public recognition and not these public heroes who have been oppressed by a renewed hostile environment and casual attitude to fairness.

All the talk about “those with a legal right to be here” is yet another snide encouragement to suspect and be inhospitable to all migrants, pandering to the racism and xenophobia of some who see someone’s “colour” as a threatening problem before their humanity as a positive.

And it isn’t just people from the Caribbean that will be faced with this problem. Many people, myself included, will have had applications for holiday visas from family members arbitrarily turned down because, despite undertakings and evidence of finances, return tickets and character references, a clerk believed they would overstay.

Watcher Old Trafford