Windrush compensation scheme has failed us, says campaigner

HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, on 22 June 1948.

Its 492 passengers, and others who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971, became known as the Windrush generation and went on to help with post-war labour shortages and rebuilding the UK’s battered economy.

In 2018 it emerged that thousands of people had been wrongly classed as illegal immigrants.

Those affected were unable to prove they were in the country legally and were prevented from accessing healthcare, work and housing.

Compensation has been offered but there has been concern over the complexity of the scheme.

With the help of his daughter and after a three-year wait, Mr Downie received some compensation.

But he said his claim had since been reopened as he was underpaid for the years he was homeless, which he said was caused by not having the documentation needed to get council help for housing.

He estimates that he and his daughter Katie Wilson-Downie have met thousands of victims across the country in the years since the scheme opened and helped them apply for compensation.