Windrush legal action over delay in payouts

Two victims of the Windrush scandal have launched legal proceedings against the Home Office over protracted delays in issuing compensation, asking for clarity on how claims can be expedited.

Both Henry Vaughan, 67, and Fitzroy Maynard, 55, are struggling financially while living in unsuitable bedsit accommodation. They say they are unable to rebuild their lives after years of problems caused by the government’s mistaken decision to classify them as illegal immigrants.

Vaughan, who arrived in 1961 as a seven-year-old from Jamaica to join his mother who was working in a London hospital, had decades of difficulties proving that he was in the UK legally, and the cumulative stress has triggered serious health problems.

Maynard came to the UK as a 14-year-old from Antigua in 1980. He was homeless for several years after losing his job as a residential caretaker, and found it impossible to get new work because he was unable to persuade employers that he had the right to live and work in the UK.

Both were given documentation by the Windrush taskforce, after the government apologised in 2018 for erroneously classifying thousands of legal residents as illegal immigrants, but both have experienced long delays getting compensation – Vaughan applied for it 10 months ago, and Maynard 18 months ago.

The judicial review, launched by the London law firm Leigh Day on the men’s behalf, urges the Home Office to publish guidance on its expedited process for claims under the Windrush compensation scheme. Legal proceedings state the average waiting time until final payment is 434 days, despite many applicants being in desperate financial need.

The legal team discovered that there is an internal system under which urgent cases can be expedited, but there is no public information about how to apply for claims to be fast-tracked. The lawyers argue that the system of prioritisation needs to be made clear so that those in acute need, such as elderly and disabled claimants, can apply to be expedited.

Maynard is hoping the payout may help him move from the one-room bedsit he shares with his six-year-old daughter. Vaughan would like to use the compensation money to help his children. “I’ve been waiting almost two years. It does feel like maybe they are waiting for me to die,” he said.

At least 21 people are known to have died before getting compensation. A Home Office spokesperson said: “The home secretary has been resolute in her determination to put right the wrongs suffered by all those affected by the Windrush scandal.”