By May Bulman From The Independent UK

Exclusive: Ministers accused of attempting to ‘silo’ Windrush cohort to ‘special category’

Nearly half of overseas enquiries to the government’s Windrush taskforce are from countries outside the Caribbean, indicating that the immigration issues span beyond the West Indies.

Figures published by the Home Office show 42 per cent of enquiries made to the helpline from abroad were from Commonwealth countries other than the Caribbean, including Nigeria, Bangladesh and Australia, in the first five weeks of the scheme being open.

Campaigners and politicians accused the government of attempting to “silo” the Windrush cohort to a special category despite the fact that large numbers of other Commonwealth nationals were experiencing similar difficulties with their immigration status in Britain.

The data, released by Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, in response to a written question, shows 212 enquiries were made to the helpline from overseas as of 22 May.

Of the 162 for which a country breakdown was available, 93 came from the Caribbean – predominantly Jamaica – while 62 came from elsewhere.

The majority of these enquiries were from Nigeria (52 per cent) and Bangladesh (15 per cent), while a number also came from Pakistan (four), Australia (three), Grenada (six) and the US (two).

While the numbers are small – because the majority of enquiries will have come from within the UK – the figures indicate that a significant minority of those seeking help for Windrush related issues were not from the Caribbean.

It comes after The Independent revealed the taskforce had been dealing with British citizens of Indian, Ghanaian and Pakistani origin, with charities warning that the Windrush fiasco was the “tip of the iceberg”.

The Home Office was accused last week of “covering up” the true scale of the scandal after failing to respond to multiple requests from journalists and MPs for a nationality breakdown of the total number of people referred to the Windrush taskforce.

Satbir Singh, the chief executive of the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), told The Independent: “The uncertainty and difficulties that have affected those of the Windrush generation could potentially affect anyone from any of the Commonwealth countries who came here prior to 1973.

“So it’s not surprising that there are large numbers of people from other countries who are experiencing very similar uncertainties around their status in the UK 50 years on. The mandate of the taskforce is to help anybody from any Commonwealth country who came here before 1973.”

He continued: “The position of the government on all of this is increasingly tenuous, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the government to avoid the elephant in the room which is the need to take a very serious look at all of this.

“The public is becoming increasingly aware of the government’s attempt to silo the Windrush cohort and say this is a very special category of problem that doesn’t apply to anyone else. The public is realising that that version of the facts doesn’t reflect reality.”

A Home Office spokesperson said the vast majority of referrals to the Windrush taskforce had been Caribbean, adding: “The home secretary has apologised unreservedly for the distress caused to people of the Windrush generation.

“These are people who have contributed to the UK over a number of decades and it is our priority to ensure that those who have struggled to demonstrate their right to be here are supported to do so.

“To that end, we have issued 2,104 documents confirming people’s settled status since 17 April and have granted British citizenship to 285 people since the Windrush scheme went live on 30 May, showing that we are making real progress in confirming the status of people who have every right to enjoy the same benefits as other residents of the UK.

“In addition the home secretary has committed to update the home affairs select committee on issues related to Windrush on a monthly basis.”

IMAGE:

Campaigners warn that large numbers of non-Caribbean Commonwealth nationals who have lived in Britain for decades are experiencing similar difficulties with their immigration status ( Rex )

For more on this story go to: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/windrush-helpline-caribbean-west-indies-commonwealth-home-office-a8419701.html