The United Reformed Church’s (URC) Racial Justice Advocates (RJAs) are calling on the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to honour promises made to the Windrush generation.
The RJAs are also backing an open letter signed by 70 public figures supporting the Windrush Justice Community Collective (WJCC) campaign for a radical overhaul of the Windrush Compensation Scheme. The scheme was set up in 2019 to compensate people, mainly Black Britons, who, over decades, were incorrectly stripped of citizenship rights and classed as illegal migrants.
Members of Hillsborough Justice, which represents survivors of the 1989 stadium disaster and relatives affected by it, along with Grenfell United, which represents survivors of the 2017 London tower block fire and bereaved family members, have also joined forces with WJCC.
A petition by the WJCC calls for victims of the scandal to be provided free, independent legal support; the creation of a new, independent Windrush Redress Authority backed by legislation; a full public inquiry into the scandal and its ongoing impact; and for all victims to be granted citizenship or indefinite leave to remain, with all tests waived and any paid fees returned.
“The government is failing to honour its promise,” said the Revd Zaidie Orr, Convenor of the URC’s RJA network: “This scandal has already caused irreparable harm to thousands of Black Britons and their families. People have died waiting for compensation. It is simply outrageous that the Home Office continues to delay compensation and, in many cases, denies it.”
A recent National Audit Office (NAO) report shows that by January 2026, 11,475 claims had been received by the scheme. Of these, 9,224 had concluded and only a third, 3,148, resulted in a payout, while 56% of the claims, 5,203, received no award. The remainder of the claims were classed as either ineligible or withdrawn. The Home Office attributes this to “applications from people who successfully applied to have their legal status confirmed through the Windrush Scheme but did not suffer any financial detriment, or people who have experienced other detrimental treatment, impacts or losses that are not covered by the Windrush Compensation Scheme”.
Pat Poinen, an RJA based in Darlington, said: “The fact is that many commonwealth migrants came to the UK with British passports.
“Ripping away a person’s identity, citizenship and right to belong causes profound harm. Families have been split apart for decades and, in some cases, individuals have been forced to return to countries which they left as children and no longer have any connection with. People have lost homes and livelihoods.
“Regardless of whether a victim suffered financial detriment, compensation should be paid. There is no monetary value that can be placed on positive mental health or the right to family life. Any compensation can be regarded as a token attempt to right the injustice caused by this scandal, yet the attempts continuously fail.
“I urge as many people as possible to sign the WJCC petition.”
In the report, NAO says: “The Home Office told us the scheme was designed to be accessible without the need for legal representation.”
However, according to the legal reform charity JUSTICE, victims from other compensation schemes — such as several relating to the Post Office Horizon Scandal, the Infected Blood Scheme, and the Lambeth Children’s Home Redress Scheme — have all been eligible for legal representation.
In comparison, up to £1,500 only is offered by the Windrush Compensation Scheme, for probate legal costs only.
On its website, JUSTICE says: “Lawyers who helped Windrush Scheme claimants suggest the attitude of Home Office caseworkers is designed to put off claimants and limit awards. The Home Office claims the process is simple and that individuals do not need legal help to apply. Yet lawyers describe the scheme as ‘tortuous’ and ‘misery on top of misery’, with a pervasive ‘culture of disbelief’ causing delays and unreasonable refusals.”
The charity also highlights “the complexity of the application process, where rules and guidance extend to over 200 pages” — this before the case even begins. Research by the charity also shows that “one claimant went from being refused any compensation to being awarded £295,000 with legal assistance; another had her award go from £20,000 to £170,000 once she had charitable legal support”.
Karen Campbell, URC Head of Global and Intercultural Church, leads on the issues of racial justice and responses to the legacies of transatlantic slavery, and commented: “We need to ask why the government has denied free, legal assistance to Windrush victims as compared to those of other high-profile scandals.”
She added: “There is only one solution — to truly right the injustice of the scandal itself and the subsequent injustice of denying victims free legal support as with other scandals, the Windrush Compensation Scheme must be taken out of the government’s hands and placed, as called for by the WJCC, into the hands of a new, independent Windrush Redress Authority. I urge members of the URC to back the WJCC’s petition.”
Sign the Windrush Justice Community Collective’s petition here.
Image: Steve Eason/Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0