MPs have called for a government review of the Windrush compensation scheme, stating sums to be paid to individuals are “insultingly low”.
David Lammy, MP for Tottenham, addressed immigration minister Caroline Notes in an urgent question about the scheme in the House of Commons, where he raised his concerns about the proposed payment of £10,000 to people who have been wrongly deported - despite home secretary Sajid Javid claiming that there would be “no cap” to the Windrush compensation scheme.
“£10,000 is less than one secretary of state’s gross salary per month. Is this all that you’ve lost if you been locked up, if you’ve been deported? Is this all it costs someone if they’ve been denied access to their family, friends, for decades from their own country?” he asked.
“Is this the price that you put on my constituents being deported for no wrongdoing? Is this how this government values the lives of black Britons?”
“You promised to do right by the Windrush generation but, quite rightly, many of them think that they have been misled. Let this be the final betrayal of the Windrush generation. Scrap the caps and compensate them properly for the wrongs that have been done to them.”
Last week @sajidjavid [2] said there would be "no cap" to the Windrush compensation scheme. In reality, there is a cap of £10,000 for being wrongly deported. £500 for legal fees.
Let this be the final betrayal of the Windrush generation. Scrap the caps and compensate them properly. pic.twitter.com/RyVrXbZl9c [3]— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 9, 2019 [4]
Lammy’s concerns were echoed by shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, who said: “With this derisory compensation scheme, the Windrush generation has been let down again.”
However, according to The Guardian, Nokes said a £10,000 payment for deportation was a higher and “a more appropriate figure” than the £1,000 available under existing schemes for wrongful deportation.
“The Home Office is determined to help claimants establish the actual level of loss,” she said.
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