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Theresa May says Windrush victims will be paid compensation Theresa May says Windrush victims will be paid compensation
(35 minutes later)
Theresa May has reassured Commonwealth leaders that members of the Windrush generation who have suffered “anxieties and problems” as a result of the government’s immigration rules will be paid compensation. Theresa May reassured Commonwealth leaders on Friday that members of the Windrush generation who had suffered “anxieties and problems” as a result of the government’s immigration rules would be paid compensation.
The prime minister said she had given Caribbean leaders an “absolute commitment” at a meeting earlier this week that “the UK will do whatever it takes including, where appropriate, payment of compensation, to resolve the anxieties and problems that some of the Windrush generation have suffered”.The prime minister said she had given Caribbean leaders an “absolute commitment” at a meeting earlier this week that “the UK will do whatever it takes including, where appropriate, payment of compensation, to resolve the anxieties and problems that some of the Windrush generation have suffered”.
She added: “These people are British. They are part of us; they helped to build Britain and we are all the stronger for their contributions.”She added: “These people are British. They are part of us; they helped to build Britain and we are all the stronger for their contributions.”
May was speaking at the closing press conference for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (Chogm) meeting in London, which has been overshadowed by the treatment of the Windrush generation. May was speaking at the closing press conference for the Commonwealth heads of government (Chogm) meeting in London, which has been overshadowed by the treatment of the Windrush generation.
She has been under intense pressure to provide more reassurance – and pay compensation – to the affected individuals. The Labour MP David Lammy and the Jamaican prime minister, Andrew Holness, are among those to have called for compensation. She has been under intense pressure to provide more reassurance – and pay compensation – to the affected individuals, some of whom have lost homes and jobs and been threatened with deportation.
The development came as it was revealed that the number of people who have contacted the Home Office’s helpline set up to offer support for members of the Windrush generation had risen to 232. The first four people whose cases have gone to a dedicated team of officials have been given permanent residence status. The Labour MP David Lammy and the Jamaican prime minister, Andrew Holness, are among those to have called for compensation.
The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, demanded an apology from May for the policy she introduced as home secretary to create a “hostile environment” for illegal immigrants by requiring individuals to prove their right to be in the UK before receiving services. Speaking to reporters after the press conference, the prime minister of Grenada, Keith Mitchell, said he believed May and the UK government should be doing more to address the situation.
“She’s the one that ordered the vans to go around telling immigrants to go home,” said Corbyn. “She’s the one that created that nasty atmosphere. “I think there’s no question,” he said. “Clearly it’s something which is vibrating strongly in the Caribbean region as a whole. Many of our people came here and helped to build Britain, under conditions that were set for them. For me, it’s very unfair for them to be treated in the way they have been treated.
“What’s happening is something quite disgusting. People that have given their lives to this country, to our health service, to our education system, our transport system are suddenly being told to go home.” “The word compensation came out today - that was highly significant, extremely important. It’s not just, ‘I’m sorry.’ People lost a lot, people suffered a lot of pain, and they must be given an opportunity to correct this – some serious compensation. If not the person, if they’ve gone, then the families who have suffered, too.”
Corbyn dismissed claims from May’s former adviser Nick Timothy that the then home secretary had opposed the deployment of the vans telling illegal immigrants to “go home”, but that the plan had been put into action when she was away on holiday. Asked if May should accept her “hostile environment” immigration policy was a mistake, Mitchell praised the prime minister for pledging to address the crisis.
“She wanted to create this hostile atmosphere towards immigrants in this country,” said the Labour leader. “I think it’s time that she apologised for that as well as for the events that have happened to the people of the Windrush generation.” He said: “I think the fact she has addressed it is indicating that Britain and the policy they enunciated initially was not the right one. And therefore by making the statement she made today, I think she’s heading in the right direction. And I’ll give her credit for making the right turn.”
A rally was held in support of those affected and their families at Windrush Square, Brixton, south London, on Friday afternoon. The development came as it was revealed that the number of people who had contacted the Home Office’s helpline set up to offer support for members of the Windrush generation had risen to 232. The first four people whose cases have gone to a dedicated team of officials have been given permanent residence status.
Later, the shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, addressed a Windrush rally in Brixton, south-west London, telling them that the home secretary, Amber Rudd, and May, should not be apologising over the scandal. “You know why? Because you only apologise when you make a mistake. They knew what they were doing,” she said.
The government “knew the consequences of that hostile climate would affect black people, whether or not they had immigration issues”, Abbott said, adding that ministers “thought they could get away with it; they thought nobody would care”. She demanded to know how many people were being held in detention centres and how many had been removed from the country.
She said those in detention must be released and those who had been removed must be invited to come back – and be compensated by the government. “Think what it means: you are separated from your families and your friends, you are separated often from your healthcare treatment. You are humiliated. And they did not care that they were humiliating people who helped to rebuild this country after the second world war.”
Commonwealth immigrationCommonwealth immigration
Theresa MayTheresa May
Race issuesRace issues
JamaicaJamaica
Jeremy CorbynJeremy Corbyn
Commonwealth of NationsCommonwealth of Nations
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