The
Windrush scandal was a 2018 British
political scandal concerning people who were wrongly
detained, denied legal rights, threatened with
deportation, and in at least 83 cases
[1][2][3] wrongly deported from the UK by the
Home Office. Many of those affected had been born
British subjects and had arrived in the UK before 1973, particularly from
Caribbean countries, as members of the "
Windrush generation"
[4] (so named after the
Empire Windrush, the ship that brought one of the first groups of West Indian migrants to the UK in 1948).
[5]
As well as those who were deported, an unknown number were detained, lost their jobs or homes, had their passports confiscated, or were denied benefits or medical care to which they were entitled.
[3] A number of long-term UK residents were refused re-entry to the UK; a larger number were threatened with immediate deportation by the Home Office. Linked by commentators to the
"hostile environment policy" instituted by
Theresa May during her time as
Home Secretary,
[6][7][8] the scandal led to the resignation of
Amber Rudd as Home Secretary in April 2018 and the appointment of
Sajid Javid as her successor.
[9] The scandal also prompted a wider debate about British immigration policy and Home Office practice.
The March 2020 independent
Windrush Lessons Learned Review[10][11] conducted by the
inspector of constabulary concluded that the Home Office had shown "ignorance and thoughtlessness" and that what had happened had been "foreseeable and avoidable". It further found that immigration regulations were tightened "with complete disregard for the Windrush generation" and that officials had made "irrational" demands for multiple documents to establish residency rights.
[12]
