THE HOME Office has failed to pay damages to around 19 out of 20 people eligible for Windrush compensation, a damning report from MPs has revealed.
Commons Home Affairs Committee chiefs have called for the department to be stripped of control for the scheme over a ‘litany of flaws’ – labelling it an ‘indictment’ of the Home Office under Home Secretary Priti Patel’s leadership.
Four years after the scandal emerged, its ‘truly shameful’ handling of claims has ‘repeated the same mistakes’ that led to the issues in the first place, the cross-party group said.
The report said that by the end of September, only 20 per cent of the estimated 15,000 eligible claimants had applied, and just six per cent had received any payment.
It added victims face ‘unreasonable requests for evidence’ and were ‘left in limbo’.
Some 23 people have died without ever receiving compensation, the MPs said, urging responsibility for the scheme to be transferred to an independent organisation to restore trust.
