Members of the Windrush generation in Newport East now have little trust in the government’s compensation scheme for those affected by the shocking injustices of the Windrush scandal.

Speaking in a debate on the Windrush Compensation Scheme Bill in Parliament on Monday, I said “What struck me is that constituents of mine whose lives have been profoundly affected by this are actually quite nervous now of this process given all they’ve suffered. Does my hon. friend agree with me that the government has to get it right quickly and do far more to reassure people who’ve suffered such shocking injustices and have little trust?”

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said “I agree with my hon friend that much more needs to be done to reassure people who are rightly worried about engaging with the Home Office at all because of previous experiences.”

As a nation we must honour all our legal and moral obligations to the entire Windrush generation who have made such an important contribution to our society. There are serious concerns regarding the Compensation Scheme that have yet to be sufficiently addressed – it has not been well-publicised enough, and many of those affected are frightened to claim because of the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ policy.

Labour has criticised the Windrush Compensation Scheme for falling ‘woefully short’ of its expectation and what is fair, whilst highlighting that British citizens have been wrongfully detained and deported, or have lost jobs and been prevented from returning home.