High court told the former Home Secretary’s decision was ‘another broken promise’ to the Windrush generation

The former Home Secretary’s decision to drop measures intended to repair some of the “monumental harm” done to the Windrush generation was unlawful and discriminatory, the high court has been told. 

Suellla Braverman decided not to implement three recommendations made by an independent review into the Windrush scandal, a decision which has been challenged this week in the High Court by Windrush victim Trevor Donald. 

The Windrush Learned Lessons Review into the government’s treatment of the Windrush generation was first published in 2020 with the promise from the government that all 30 recommendations would be implemented. 

However when Braverman became Home Secretary she subsequently decided not to implement all commitments. With the High Court told on Tuesday that by scrapping three of the pledges, Braverman’s actions were discriminatory and “left members of the Windrush and black communities feeling ‘extremely disappointed’, ‘shocked and angered’ and ‘betrayed’.”

Barista Nicola Braganzaa KC, for the Black Equity Organisation (BEO), told the court: “The abandonment of the recommendations, designed to redress the historic mistreatment of the Windrush generation, is another example of the broken promises that particularly the Windrush cohort has faced, and that white British citizens have not and would not be subjected to.”

Campaigners have referred to the Windrush scandal as the Home Office scandal, having emerged in 2018 that the UK Home Office had kept no records of British citizens, mainly from the Caribbean, which led to many people being wrongly detained, threatened with deportation or deported. 

After attending his mother’s funeral in Jamaica, Mr Donald was denied re-entry to the UK for nine years, stranded in the country he had left 43 years earlier at the age of 11. He had attempted to secure a UK passport when his mother was critically ill but was unable to and used emergency travel documents to attend her funeral, which were subsequently denied when attempting to return home. Following the emergence of the Windrush scandal he was allowed re-entry, before being granted British citizenship in 2022.

Mr Donald was granted permission last December to seek a judicial review of Suella Braverman’s actions, joined by trade union Unison and the Black Equity Organisation, all of whom have argued that the Home Office acted unlawfully when ditching pledges made to the Windrush victims. 

The pledges included the holding of reconciliation events for affected individuals and families, a commitment to appoint a migrants commissioner and a strengthening of powers of the independent chief inspector of borders and immigration. 

Edward Brown KC acting on behalf of the Home office said the “recommendations were not legally binding and there was no obligation on the government to implement the recommendations”.

The hearing was due to conclude on Wednesday with a decision expected in writing at a later date. 

(Image credit: Image credit: UK Home Office – Creative Commons)

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward

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