Those affected asked to tell their stories as Sajid Javid appoints QC to oversee details of scheme

The government has called for Windrush citizens and their families to come forward with their personal stories as it draws up details of a potentially costly compensation scheme for those wrongly targeted over their immigration status.

The home secretary, Sajid Javid, announced in a written statement that Martin Forde QC, a lawyer specialising in health cases and himself the son of Windrush parents, had been appointed to oversee the design of the compensation scheme.

Q&A What is the Windrush deportation crisis? Show Hide Who are the Windrush generation? They are people who arrived in the UK after the second world war from Caribbean countries at the invitation of the British government. The first group arrived on the ship MV Empire Windrush in June 1948. What happened to them? An estimated 50,000 people faced the risk of deportation if they had never formalised their residency status and did not have the required documentation to prove it. Why now? It stems from a policy, set out by Theresa May when she was home secretary, to make the UK 'a really hostile environment for illegal immigrants'. It requires employers, NHS staff, private landlords and other bodies to demand evidence of people’s citizenship or immigration status. Why do they not have the correct paperwork and status? Some children, often travelling on their parents’ passports, were never formally naturalised and many moved to the UK before the countries in which they were born became independent, so they assumed they were British. In some cases, they did not apply for passports. The Home Office did not keep a record of people entering the country and granted leave to remain, which was conferred on anyone living continuously in the country since before 1 January 1973. What did the government try and do to resolve the problem? A Home Office team was set up to ensure Commonwealth-born long-term UK residents would no longer find themselves classified as being in the UK illegally. But a month after one minister promised the cases would be resolved within two weeks, many remained destitute. In November 2018 home secretary Sajid Javid revealed that at least 11 Britons who had been wrongly deported had died. In April 2019 the government agreed to pay up to £200m in compensation. Photograph: Douglas Miller/Hulton Archive

But the statement did not reveal how many are owed compensation or how much the government expects to pay out, prompting the opposition to accuse the government of damaging delays.

The announcement to consult on the experiences of the Windrush generation jars with claims by the minister for children, Nadhim Zahawi, last month that “in two weeks we’ll have dealt with all the Windrush cases including compensation”.

Among those affected by the Windrush scandal are people forced out of work, in some cases for years, and unable to claim welfare support, as well as individuals wrongfully detained and in some cases deported. Lawyers have begun preparing group compensation claims on behalf of members of the Windrush generation.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sajid Javid, home secretary: ‘I have asked officials to reach out to the people and communities most closely affected.’ Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

“To put things right we need to understand more about what happened, to understand the personal stories, which will help to inform the design of the compensation scheme,” Javid said.



“As well as receiving written contributions I have asked officials to reach out to the people and communities most closely affected, listen to their concerns directly and, in particular, understand properly how we might address them through a compensation scheme.”

The call for evidence will run until 8 June and responses will be published, Javid said. A public consultation will then be launched on the “technical” aspects of the scheme.

The announcement comes after 12 Caribbean and Commonwealth high commissioners had an hour-long meeting with Javid on Thursday morning.

Profile How the Guardian broke the Windrush story Show Hide In November last year, Paulette Wilson (left), who has lived in the UK for more than half a century, spoke to the Guardian's Amelia Gentleman about her treatment at the hands of the Home Office - and revealed that she had been held at Yarl’s Wood detention centre and threatened with deportation. It was the first of a series of stories that developed a picture of how many members of the Windrush generation were being mistreated by the government under the so-called ‘hostile environment’ policy. By February, with other examples mounting, the government had relented in Wilson’s case, but faced acute criticism from Caribbean diplomats who urged the Home Office to adopt a “more compassionate” approach. In March the story of Albert Thompson - who had lived in Britain for 44 years but was told to produce a passport or face a bill of £54,000 for cancer treatment - forced attention back to the growing crisis. After the Guardian reported a string of additional cases matters came to a head when Theresa May refused to meet with Caribbean diplomats to discuss the issue, prompted fury among opposition MPs and a wider media backlash. After days of negative publicity, the then home secretary, Amber Rudd, and May were forced to change tack and issued apologies, promised reforms – and eventually gave the Windrush generation a fast-track to citizenship. Photograph: Fabio De Paola

It is understood the group was impressed with Javid’s apparent commitment to resolving the problem after he reiterated his personal take on the scandal. The new home secretary previously told MPs that when he learned of the fate of the Windrush generation he thought, as a child of Commonwealth migrants, “it could be … me”.

It was the high commissioners’ second meeting with a home secretary, after a 17 April meeting with Javid’s predecessor Amber Rudd.

On giving Forde independent oversight of the compensation scheme’s design, Javid said: “He is himself the son of Windrush parents and brings a wealth of experience in complex public law and compensation matters. I am confident that he will ensure that the interests of those affected will be properly represented and reflected in the scheme.”

Forde has appeared in regulatory and disciplinary tribunals for practitioners including doctors, dentists, osteopaths, chiropractors and optometrists.

Q&A Have you been affected by this story? Show Hide If you have been affected by this story, you can share your experiences with us by using our encrypted form, here.

Your responses will only be seen by the Guardian and we will treat them confidentially. Your stories will help our journalists have a more complete picture of these events and we will feature some of them in our reporting.



Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, said: “The government is only now opening consultations on compensation for victims of the Windrush scandal. This should have begun when ministers first became aware of the situation, and they have fallen short of their promise to deal with compensation within two weeks.

“People are desperate now, some of them destitute or homeless as a result of this government’s policies. The government should be announcing what immediate action it will take to help victims and give full compensation for the losses experienced by the Windrush generation.”