Windrush lessons learned review
Wendy Williams, one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary will have oversight of the Windrush lessons learned review, the Home Secretary announced today.
The announcement comes the day before the 70th anniversary of the arrival of Empire Windrush to the UK. Across the country events are being held to celebrate the enormous contribution members of the Windrush generation have made to this country.
The Home Secretary has been clear; his top priority is to right the wrongs suffered by Commonwealth citizens as a result of measures put in place to tackle illegal immigration.
The lessons learned review will look at what happened and what action is needed to prevent anything like this from happening again.
The Home Secretary Sajid Javid said:
The contribution that the Windrush generation have made to this country is invaluable and I am committed to putting things right.
I am delighted that Wendy will be overseeing the lessons learned review, which is vital to ensuring this never happens again to any group of people. She has a wealth of experience and I am confident that she will bring integrity to the review and give it the external scrutiny it requires.
The commitment to carry out a lessons learned review is just one of the actions that the Home Office has carried out in recent months. A dedicated Windrush taskforce which was established in April has provided documentation to over 2,000 people to demonstrate their right to live in the UK.
The Home Office has also launched a new Windrush Scheme, bringing into force the offer of free citizenship for Commonwealth citizens who arrived before 1973 and children who joined their parents before they turned 18.
Applications are already being processed and so far 285 people have been granted citizenship.
In addition, the Home Secretary has committed to put in place a compensation scheme to make sure those who have been impacted are compensated. More than 500 people and organisations came forward as part of the call for evidence. This will help ensure the scheme effectively addresses the issues people of the Windrush generation have faced.
The terms of reference and methodology for the lessons learned review will be laid in the House before summer recess.