The Windrush affair tarnishes Britain’s record as a welcoming nation
SIR – Growing up in Wolverhampton during the Fifties and Sixties, I was well aware of the Windrush generation. Many of the families who arrived from the Caribbean moved into houses on the long Waterloo Road to the north of the city centre. It became the norm to see children from the Caribbean accepted into society as their parents helped to rebuild Britain after the Second World War.
It was therefore with disbelief that I read of the treatment of people who have lived, paid taxes and raised families here for decades (report, April 17). I count myself extremely fortunate that several of the Windrush generation served with me in the Army, and there are many whom I still count as my loyal friends.
What has gone wrong? I believe the problem is the utter incompetence of the Civil Service and of the Home Office in particular, where initiative is discouraged in favour of following the rules. I welcome the Home Secretary’s statement on this matter, and hope that she maintains her resolve before we destroy everything that my generation encouraged and built. Lt-col Richard King-evans
Hambye, Manche, France
SIR – Often, after reading of ministers’ and civil servants’ decisions, I conclude that they lack common sense. I now suspect that they lack common decency, too. George W Reeves
Cockshutt, Shropshire
SIR – The Windrush imbroglio is an example of crass bureaucracy at its worst. That Amber Rudd did not know whether people had been deported is appalling.
And what exquisite timing, when Commonwealth heads are meeting here and we will increasingly need their help as we leave the EU. John Bailey
Burwash Weald, East Sussex
SIR – The debate about the rights of Commonwealth citizens is not new. I was dealing with cases in 2007-8. Regularising a person’s status is expensive, and this Home Office policy needs to be questioned. If other EU countries charged such high fees after Brexit, there would be uproar.
Many Windrush children have been treated badly by the Home Office. At least now we can try to resolve this.
Gary Martin London E17
SIR – It is not only an older generation facing unfair deportation. A young nursing colleague was deported some years ago. She had been largely brought up by her grandparents in Jamaica until, in her teens, she joined her mother in London, completing her schooling and nurse training.
While seeking promotion, she was asked to clarify her residence status. She trustingly reported herself to the Home Office and rapidly found herself on a flight to Jamaica: this, at a time when the health service was scouring the world for nurses.
Stephen Dunn Norwich