Equalities Watchdog: UK violated ‘equality law’ over Windrush generation

The equalities watchdog has accused the Home Office of breaching “equality law” by imposing a “hostile environment” on irregular immigration which directly contributed to the Windrush scandal.

In a hard-hitting report, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) argued that problems caused by the harsh policies were “repeatedly ignored, dismissed or their severity disregarded” as they were being created and delivered by the Home Office.

The so-called Windrush scandal (named after the ship that transported one of the first groups of West Indian migrants to Britain) hit the headlines in 2018 when it was discovered that hundreds of Commonwealth citizens had been unlawfully detained, deported and denied legal rights.

Pursuant to the hostile environment legislation (2012), the Home Office strove to deport undocumented migrants.

But many of the so-called Windrush generation, who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1973, had arrived as children on their parents' passports and hence were unable to produce documentation.

To make matters worse, the Home Office had destroyed thousands of landing cards and other documents which meant that some migrants could not prove their right to live in the UK.

The EHRC report found a "lack of organization-wide commitment, including by senior leadership, to the importance of equality and the Home Office's obligations under the equality duty placed on government departments".

"Any action taken to record and respond to negative equality impacts was perfunctory, and therefore insufficient", the report added.

EHRC’s interim chair, Caroline Waters, made the following damning statement: "The treatment of the Windrush generation as a result of hostile environment policies was a shameful stain on British history”.

The EHRC has recommended that, to ensure "measurable action", the Home Office should enter an agreement with the commission by the end of January 2021, involving "preparing and implementing a plan" of "specific actions" to "avoid a future breach".

For its part, the Home Office has reportedly agreed to enter an agreement with the EHRC.

In a statement, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft claimed they are "determined to right the wrongs suffered by the Windrush generation and make amends for the institutional failings they faced, spanning successive governments over several decades".

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