4 WAYS YOU CAN HELP US GET JUSTICE

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, Postcode]
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]
[Date]

Rt Hon Keir Starmer and Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch

Prime Minister & Leader of the Conservative Party

Dear Mr Starmer and Ms Badenoch,

If you don’t know the history you don’t see the injustice.

Invited by the government to help rebuild the country after the second world war, the Windrush generation answered the call.

Decades later, this generation has been shut out and grossly mistreated by a disastrous government compensation scheme. Britain’s colonial history needs to be addressed and understood so that as a nation we can begin to heal and never let this happen again.

We, the undersigned, demand urgent action from the  Government to provide legal aid to Windrush victims, establish an independent and neutral body to oversee the Windrush Compensation Scheme, and pledge the swift and full delivery of compensation. We also call for the implementation of all 30 recommendations from Wendy Williams’ Lessons Learned Review, and for immediate steps to launch a formal inquiry into this Home Office scandal, which began in 1948 and continues to inflict deep harm and trauma on thousands of members of the Windrush generation and their descendants.

This is the ONLY government scandal that does not provide legal aid. Please click on the link below to sign the petition demanding legal aid NOW.

These are the facts

When the Windrush Compensation Scheme was launched in April 2019, the Home Office estimated that around 15,000 people would be eligible for compensation.

As of January 2024, only 13.8% of those eligible had received any compensation.

As of April 2023, 1 in 6 applicants (16%) have been waiting for over a year for a result, with around half of these (7.5%) waiting for more than 18 months.

The Home Office has refused to give applicants legal aid – making the path to justice even more difficult.

Just £75.23 million of an allocated £200-500 million has been awarded to victims.

We need change NOW

The Justice4Windrush campaign is inviting the public to join us by watching and sharing our film, and to sign up on our website in support of the following eight recommendations for the Government:

Make full and swift compensation for Windrush victims a Home Office priority. Reinstating the Transformation Team and Windrush Working Group is crucial.

To ensure its credibility with claimants, remove the Windrush Compensation Scheme from the Home Office and identify or create an independent and neutral body or organisation to operate it and make appeal decisions.

Direct the Home Office to ensure more transparent, independent oversight over its administration of the scheme, including quarterly, detailed public reports on the scheme’s operation by the independent assessor.

Ensure that legal aid is guaranteed to all eligible claimants.

Lower the burden of proof for claims and compensate fully for losses and impact on life, regardless of the complexity.

Stop deportations. Trust is gone. So many have been deported in error. Already traumatised victims need to feel safe to come forward.

End the decades long history of covert racist immigration laws and bring an end to the Hostile Environment immigration policy

Pledge full compensation to Windrush victims as part of its forthcoming general election manifesto.

Implement all the recommendations set out by the 2020 Wendy Williams Review.

The Windrush generation is running out of time. Already more than 50 people have died waiting to receive compensation.

This injustice is a stain on our history and shames this country.

Britain’s Windrush generation must be seen, heard, and healed.


Thank You

Signed,

[Your Full Name]

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, Postcode]
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]

Date

The Department for Education
20 Great Smith Street
London
SW1P 3BT

Dear Sir/Madam,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to request that the Department for Education upholds its promise to incorporate Black British history into the National Curriculum, particularly the history and impact of the Home Office Scandal.
The lack of awareness about Britain’s slave and colonial history by both the Home Office and the general public is identified as the single biggest reason that this Home Office scandal continues to inflict harm and trauma on thousands of people from the Windrush generation including their descendants.

The Home Office Scandal, which has had a profound and lasting effect on the lives of many Black British individuals and communities, is an important chapter in our shared history that deserves to be acknowledged and discussed in educational settings. It is critical that students across the country, regardless of background, are educated about the historical events that have shaped British society, including the systemic injustices faced by Black Britons.

By including the story of the Windrush Generation and the impact of the Home Office's wrongful actions in both the past and present, we not only ensure that victims and survivors are heard, but also help future generations understand the importance of justice, equality, and accountability.

We respectfully urge the Department to take the necessary steps to make the study of this subject mandatory in schools across the country, helping to raise awareness of these important issues and furthering the conversation about racial equality.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response and hope that you will take action to fulfil this vital promise.

Yours faithfully,
[Your Full Name]