Theresa May announces major review into damning Windrush scandal
2 min read
The Government will fully investigate the Home Office errors that led to the damning Windrush scandal, Theresa May announced today.
The Prime Minister said a wide-ranging probe would look at individual cases, be independently monitored and will report back before the end of July this year.
Ministers have been fiercely criticised over the scandal, which saw British citizens of Caribbean descent stripped of their rights to work and threatened with deportation.
The so-called Windrush generation of Commonwealth migrants were wrongly caught up in a crackdown on illegal immigration - despite living in the UK legally for decades.
Amber Rudd was forced to resign as Home Secretary last week after the scandal saw her embroiled in confusion around deportation targets for illegal immigrants.
Today the Prime Minister revealed that new Home Secretary Sajid Javid will announce a set of measures later today to “reassure those people who have been directly affected”.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, she said: “Speed is of the essence and my Right Honourable Friend will be commissioning a full review of lessons learned, independent oversight, and external challenge with the intention of reporting back to this House before we rise for the Summer.
“The review will have full access to all relevant information in the Home Office, including policy papers and casework decisions.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the Windrush debacle was “a crisis made in the Home Office by successive Home Secretaries”.
“The pain that's been caused to the Windrush generation needs to be resolved very rapidly and full compensation paid as quickly as it can be possibly done,” he added.
CRUNCH PAPERWORK VOTE
Meanwhile, MPs are gearing up for a crunch Commons vote this afternoon over a Labour demand for the Government to reveal years of paperwork around the scandal.
The Tories are under a three-line whip to block the call for all Government papers surrounding the issue - including case studies - to be handed to the Home Affairs Select Committee.
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: “With the resignation of Amber Rudd, Theresa May has lost her human shield and must now fully account for the policies she created and drove through from the Home Office into Downing Street.
“The Windrush Scandal has exposed something rotten at the heart of Government. We need to know what has led to this situation.
“If the Prime Minister is too weak to be accountable, Labour will have to force her to be accountable. We have had enough of Ministers trying to dodge questions and blame others, we need full disclosure of all the facts.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
