THE MAYOR of London is calling on the Prime Minster to speed up Windrush compensation payments.

Sadiq Khan has written directly to Rishi Sunak demanding the government make compensation for Windrush scandal victims a priority.

This comes after the PM announced a new compensation plan for victims caught up in the Post Office Scandal.

In the letter, published by The Independent, Mr Khan wrote: “Although there is still more to do, your response to the Post Office scandal has been an example of how quickly the government can respond to correct injustices.

“Unfortunately, the lack of progress on ending the Windrush scandal displays a lack of will on the government’s part to show up for the Windrush generation.”

‘Shameful’

Khan also took to social media to describe the treatment of the Windrush generation as “shameful.”

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: “The Windrush generation showed up to rebuild Britain in our hour of need.

“Yet the Government can’t show up for the Windrush generation now after the injustice they have been subjected to. It’s shameful.”

The Windrush Scandal saw people from the Caribbean treated like ‘illegal immigrants’ by the Home Office despite arriving in Britain legally.

Victims lost jobs, homes, access to benefits and some were wrongfully detained and deported.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme was launched on 3 April 2019. According to the Home Office’s data published in December 2023 – which covers the period to the end of October 2023 – £73.58 million has been paid across 2,009 claims.

However, sadly at least 53 people have died while waiting for compensation.

Legal challenge

The letter from the Mayor, follows the announcement that a national civil rights group is calling on the Home Secretary to commit to key recommendations made in a damning independent report into how victims of the Windrush scandal were treated.

The Black Equity Organisation (BEO) has been granted a judicial review to challenge the decision by the Home Office to drop three key recommendations from the Wendy Williams Windrush Lessons Learned Review into the scandal.

The legal challenge from BEO – which is being represented by Public Law Project – will be heard in the High Court on April 23.

The review, by Wendy Williams, was published in March 2020. It outlined 30 recommendations for the Home Secretary to implement.

However in January last year, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced to Parliament that she was not proceeding with three previously accepted recommendations.