A NEWPORT MP has spoken out in Parliament about the injustices being suffered by the members of the Windrush generation.
Newport East MP Jessica Morden has warned that members of the Windrush generation in her constituency now have ‘little trust’ in a compensation scheme those affected by the ‘shocking injustices’ of the Windrush scandal.
Speaking in a debate on the Windrush Compensation Scheme Bill in Parliament, Ms Morden said: “What struck me is that constituents of mine whose lives have been profoundly affected by this are actually quite nervous now of this process given all they’ve suffered. "Does my hon. friend agree with me that the government has to get it right quickly and do far more to reassure people who’ve suffered such shocking injustices and have little trust?”
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: “I agree with my honourable friend that much more needs to be done to reassure people who are rightly worried about engaging with the Home Office at all because of previous experiences.”
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Today a deportation flight departed the UK for Jamaica. However, fewer than half of the people scheduled to be aboard were present thanks to a last minute legal challenge which was upheld.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid had previously claimed that those being deported were not members of the Windrush generation, but were in fact 'foreign nationals' who had all received custodial sentences of 12 months or more.
Jessica Morden
Ms Morden said: “As a nation we must honour all our legal and moral obligations to the entire ‘Windrush generation’ - including a number of constituents of mine in Newport East - who have made such an important contribution to our society.
"There are serious concerns regarding the Compensation Scheme that have yet to be sufficiently addressed - it has not been well publicised enough, and many of those affected are frightened to claim because of the Home Office’s ‘hostile environment’ policy.”
Labour has criticised the Windrush Compensation Scheme for falling ‘woefully short’ of its expectation and what is fair, whilst highlighting that British citizens have been wrongfully detained and deported, or have lost jobs and been prevented from returning home.
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