Payments for Windrush victims denied compensation

More than £400,000 has been secured for victims of the Windrush scandal wrongly denied payment through the Home Office compensation scheme.

It follows investigations by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which found the scheme had sometimes failed to look at all the evidence provided and some victims had been wrongly told they were ineligible for compensation.

The findings have been published in a new report, following 46 complaints about the scheme to the PHSO since 2021.

A Home Office official said: "This government is committed to putting right the appalling injustices caused by the Windrush scandal and making sure those affected receive the compensation they rightly deserve."

Up to the end of July 2024, the Windrush Compensation Scheme had paid £93.58m across 2,634 claims.

But the PHSO report reveals other victims were unfairly affected by the scheme’s rules.

PHSO Rebecca Hilsenrath said: “The Windrush Compensation Scheme was set up to right the wrongs of a scandal that inflicted harm on very many people.

"But our evidence shows that further harm and injustice are still being caused by failings in the way the scheme is working.

“We found recurrent reasons for this, suggesting these were not one-off issues but systemic problems."

Some of the complaints are still under review - but so far, the PHSO has helped secure £432,592 for victims wrongly denied payment.

And it is now calling for the Home Office to review and make improvements to the scheme, to help support victims and their families.

In 2018, it emerged thousands of people, mostly from the Caribbean, had been wrongly classed as illegal immigrants.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme was set up April 2019 and about 15,000 people were thought to be eligible.

But it continues to be heavily criticised for processing delays, low offers and unfair rejections.

In 2021, the Home Affairs Committee of MPs found the scheme had itself become a further source of trauma for eligible victims.

The Home Office says it will ensure victims of the Windrush scandal have their voices heard and the compensation scheme is delivered efficiently.