Tangled laws behind the Windrush scandal

SIR – The recent treatment of Windrush migrants has been thoughtless, heartless and cruel; however, efforts to explain the background to this problem have been far from satisfactory. This is because there is a serious lack of understanding of the complications of Britain’s various immigration acts.

When the Windrush migrants arrived in the UK, the extant nationality act was the British Nationality Act 1948. This was complicated legislation which few lawyers fully understood. For the sake of simplicity, it comprised of two parts: nationality (British subject status) and citizenship (of the United Kingdom and colonies).

The British Nationality Act held that a citizen of a Commonwealth country was also a British subject. However, not all citizens of independent Commonwealth countries were also citizens of the UK and colonies, as subjects usually lost their UK citizenship when the colony became independent.

Further complications and problems happened with the introduction of subsequent immigration acts which affected persons who were Commonwealth citizens but who no longer possessed UK citizenship.

Thus, citizens of the former colony of Jamaica – who, prior to Jamaica’s independence in 1962, were citizens of the UK and colonies – typically lost this citizenship on becoming citizens of Jamaica.

However, such persons who were legally resident in the UK on independence day would not have lost their entitlement to remain here. David Peters

Exeter, Devon

SIR – The improper treatment of Windrush migrants is a fiasco; but one wonders why Wednesday’s BBC News sought to highlight two cases which were not part of the problem.

The report identified an immigrant from Curaçao, even though Curaçao is in the Dutch Antilles, and is not, and never has been, in the Commonwealth.

The second case was a couple from South Africa who have been trying to claim residence for many years, having come to the UK on limitedterm visas.

The BBC seems determined to try to embarrass the Government at every turn, irrespective of the facts. Andy Bradshaw

Guildford, Surrey