Windrush report: Home Office showed hallmarks of ‘institutional racism’
Long-awaited report prompts official apology from Home Secretary Priti Patel
![Demonstrators hold placards during a protest in support of the Windrush generation in Windrush Square, Brixton](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9GjAwwB4mk7549uVjgfk2a-415-80.jpg)
The Home Office showed “institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness towards the issue of race” during the Windrush scandal, an independent inquiry has found.
The long-awaited report said the government department operated a “culture of disbelief and carelessness” and found that some ministers still “do not accept the full extent of the injustice”.
The report, described as “scathing” by The Guardian, said the Home Office’s failings were “consistent with some elements of the definition of institutional racism”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Responding to the report, Home Secretary Priti Patel offered an official apology in the House of Commons yesterday, saying: “There is nothing I can say today that will undo the suffering... On behalf of this and successive governments I am truly sorry.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Windrush Lessons Learned Review was commissioned after people with a right to live in the UK were wrongfully detained or deported to the Caribbean over a period of around six years, from 2013 to 2018.
The report’s author Wendy Williams, an inspector of constabulary, called on the government to provide an “unqualified apology” to those affected and the wider African-Caribbean community.
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott told Patel: “People will believe her apology when they see her genuinely seek to implement the recommendations in the review.”
Abbott, whose mother was a member of the Windrush generation, said for those affected it was not about “the money, the inconvenience or the tragedy of being deported”, but the “insult to people who always believed they were British”.
The BBC’s community affairs correspondent, Adina Campbell, describes the review is a “damning indictment of Home Office immigration policy which goes as far back as the 1960s, with race being a significant factor”.
The Windrush scandal saw Commonwealth nationals living in the UK wrongly threatened with deportation and denied of medical care because they lacked the correct documentation.
The group comprises British citizens who came to the UK from the Commonwealth as children following the Second World War, and whose rights were guaranteed in the Immigration Act of 1971.
They were named the Windrush generation after the British ship the Empire Windrush - which arrived at Tilbury Docks in Essex carrying 492 Caribbean passengers in 1948.
A large number arrived as children, and “many [making] the UK their home for their entire lives”, says Channel 4.
However, under changes to the immigration law in 2012, they were forced to prove continuous residence in the UK since 1973, which proved almost impossible for those who had not kept up detailed records.
Recommendations in the report include setting up a full review and evaluation of the hostile environment policy, and that the Home Office should launch an overarching strategic race advisory board.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Big Tech's answer for AI-driven job loss: universal basic income
In The Spotlight A new study reveals the strengths and limitations
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
'I will not be silent' on Gaza, says Kamala Harris
Speed Read In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Harris supported Israel's right to defend itself while expressing a desire to end Palestinian suffering
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
'How long can TikTok dominate as a social network?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Who will be the next Tory leader?
In Depth Senior Conservative MPs are 'on manoeuvres' as James Cleverly, Tom Tugendhat, Robert Jenrick and Mel Stride declare their intention to stand
By The Week UK Last updated
-
Will voter apathy and low turnout blight the election?
Today's Big Question Belief that result is 'foregone conclusion', or that politicians can't be trusted, could exacerbate long-term turnout decline
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'How many people will vote for RFK Jr. as a protest against the real choices?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Is the death penalty racist? Of course it is.'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Rwanda plan: Home Office launches surprise sweep to fill first flights
Speed Read Lib Dem spokesman condemns 'cruel gimmick', but Sunak says plan is already having deterrent effect
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published