World News | British Indian Minister Announces New Windrush Scandal Redressal Approach
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The UK government on Thursday announced a reset in its approach towards addressing the historic Windrush scandal, which wrongly denied citizenship rights to thousands of migrants from Commonwealth countries including India.
London, Feb 13 (PTI) The UK government on Thursday announced a reset in its approach towards addressing the historic Windrush scandal, which wrongly denied citizenship rights to thousands of migrants from Commonwealth countries including India.
The Home Office is inviting applications to appoint a new Windrush Commissioner, who will be tasked with driving forward change and holding officials to account.
The new Commissioner will be an “independent advocate” for all those affected by the scandal, which saw thousands suffer through no fault of their own because of their inability to produce documents to prove their right to live in the UK.
“The appointment of a Windrush Commissioner will mark a vital step in resetting the government's response to the Home Office Windrush scandal and delivering the change that the victims of this scandal want and deserve to see,” said Seema Malhotra, UK's Minister for Migration and Citizenship.
“This independent advocate will ensure the voices of victims and communities are heard and acted on throughout government. By engaging with communities, driving improvements, and holding government to account, the Commissioner will help ensure that lasting change is delivered and the lessons of the past are truly learned,” she said.
The British Indian minister said the successful candidate, to be chosen following a “rigorous recruitment process” within the coming months, will ensure that such injustice can never happen again and that dignity is restored to those who suffered.
The Windrush generation refers to citizens of former British colonies who arrived in the UK before 1973, when the rights of such Commonwealth citizens to live and work in Britain underwent a legal modification.
While a large proportion of them were of Jamaican/Caribbean descent who came on the ship Empire Windrush on June 22, 1948, Indian and other South Asian immigrants from that era also fall within the Windrush generation categorisation.
Now, the new Commissioner will be responsible for advising on the Home Office's delivery of the compensation and status schemes and the implementation of the department's response to the ‘Windrush Lessons Learned Review'. The new recruit will also act as a “trusted voice” for families and communities.
“We want the Windrush Commissioner to have the power and resources to engage with Windrush victims and community advocacy organisations, hold the government to account and drive positive change,” said Jeremy Crook, Chief Executive of Action for Race Equality.
The Commissioner is set to work alongside the Windrush Unit, which was re-established by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper after the Labour Party government took charge last July, to oversee the department's response to the scandal and embed permanent cultural change.
In October last year, Cooper set out her plans to “fundamentally reset how the government plans to right the wrongs of the Home Office Windrush scandal”. As well as re-establishing the Windrush Unit, the newly elected government committed to better supporting victims to apply for compensation with GBP 1.5 million in grant funding to increase advocacy support.
The Home Office asserted that the government is determined to hear first-hand from the Windrush generation, their families and wider Commonwealth communities to ensure that their experiences are listened to and learned from.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)