Windrush generation to be granted citizenship papers
Home Secretary attempts to draw line under scandal after calls to resign
The Home Secretary has said the Windrush generation will be granted full citizenship and compensation, as the Government attempts to lay the matter to rest.
Amber Rudd told the Commons that Caribbean immigrants and their families who settled between 1948 and 1971 would have their citizenship application fees waived, would not be required to take an English language or general knowledge test and would receive compensation.
Although they were regarded as British citizens at the time, they did not have the paperwork to prove it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
While welcoming the news as a “first step toward righting the historic wrongs done to the Windrush generation”, the chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Satbir Singh, said: “By placing yet another sticking plaster over its failures, the Government has said and done nothing to indicate that it is taking the root causes of this crisis seriously.”
Rudd’s U-turn comes after a letter was leaked revealing ministers were aware of risk to the Windrush generation when immigration reforms were made law.
Written in May 2016 by a Home Office minister, the letter “fuelled the row about whether Ms Rudd should resign”, says the Daily Mail.
Yet despite announcing a sweeping package of compensation and new citizenship rights, Rudd has continued to try to deflect blame for the scandal, arguing that “successive governments” introduced measures to combat illegal immigration, reports Sky News.
The Financial Times says her stance “immediately came in for criticism”, with shadow home secretary Diane Abbott insisting the problems facing the Windrush generation were a predicted effect of the 2014 Immigration Act, pushed through by Theresa May.
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
-
'Making a police state out of the liberal university'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
8 looming climate tipping points that imperil our planet
The Explainer New reports detail the thresholds we may be close to crossing
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Try 6 free issues of The Week Junior
Spark your child's curiosity with The Week Junior - the award-winning current affairs magazine for 8-14s.
By The Week Published
-
Coming to America
Opinion Why the melting pot should be a source of national pride
By Theunis Bates Published
-
'Presidential debates are more performance art than actual ways to inform'
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
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Being an economist makes me an optimist'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Texas migrant law in limbo after Supreme Court OK
Speed Read The law has been blocked again, mere hours after the Supreme Court allowed the state to arrest migrants
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Government shutdown looming? Blame the border.
Talking Points Democrats and Republicans say funding for immigration enforcement is the budget battle's latest sticking point. That's about all they agree on.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published