A Cultural Evening Celebrating Young Windrush Generation Talent and Legacy
The Office of the Windrush Commissioner is proud to present We Are Windrush, a special cultural evening celebrating the talent, heritage and legacy of the young Windrush generation. The event takes place on Thursday 11 June 2026, 6pm–10pm at Legacy COE, Birmingham.
We Are Windrush brings together young creatives, performers, educators and storytellers to explore what the Windrush story means for a new generation, and what it means for them personally. Featuring inspiring panel conversations, live performances, personal reflections and delicious food, the evening is designed to be welcoming, celebratory and thought-provoking.
The event is part of the Commissioner’s ongoing programme of community engagement across the country, bringing the work of the office directly to communities and ensuring that young people with Caribbean or Commonwealth heritage know their rights, their history, and the support available to them.
“The Windrush generation came to Britain in good faith, worked hard, built communities, and helped shape this country into what it is today. Their descendants carry that legacy forward, and this evening is our opportunity to celebrate that, through conversation, creativity, and culture.
“But it is also a chance to ensure that young people with Caribbean or Commonwealth heritage know their history, understand their rights, and are aware that support may be available to them and their families. I am looking forward to a truly special evening and to hearing directly from the next generation about what Windrush means to them.”
Many young people are unaware that they may be eligible for compensation or confirmation of status through a wider family member’s connection to the Home Office Windrush Scandal. The We Are Windrush event is an opportunity to learn more in a relaxed setting, and to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of the Windrush generation to British life.
Confirmed guests include:
Hosting the evening:
Rakeem Omar – award-winning investigative journalist, BBC Radio 1Xtra presenter and documentary filmmaker.
Panel: Identity, Heritage & Windrush:
CASHH (artist and lived experience storyteller),
Keecia Ellis (founder of Rekodi Music, formerly Universal Music Group, Sony and MTV).
Panel: Justice, Legacy & the Future:
Ify Iwobi (pianist, composer and co-founder of Black Welsh Music Awards),
Kayne Kawasaki (cultural theorist and UK Black history educator),
Eden McKenzie-Goddard (author, SMALLIE, Penguin Viking 2026).
Performers:
Casey Bailey (former Birmingham Poet Laureate),
Priscilla Cameron (singer and songwriter, The Voice UK 2020),
Janel Antoneshia (Jamaican-born singer and songwriter),
Ify Iwobi and Wade (BBC Radio Wales A-List pianist and soulful vocalist duo),
Jada Pink (London-based DJ and Caribbean sounds specialist).
The Office of the Windrush Commissioner is delighted that Sandie Okoro, Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, will also be joining us on the evening, reflecting the University’s commitment to celebrating diversity, heritage and the contributions of Caribbean and Commonwealth communities to British life.
Hundreds of lives were shattered in the wake of the Windrush Scandal in 2018, jobs and homes lost, people being threatened with removal, and many others forced back to countries they hadn’t lived in since childhood.
Sadly, the very schemes – Windrush Scandal Compensation Scheme and Windrush Status Scheme – that were set up to compensate victims and address the government’s failure have compounded the stress of many of the victims, as the processes and requirements of the schemes are complex and difficult to navigate.
Today, Black Equity Organisation (BEO) launches the UK’s first online Windrush Support Directory, Windrush Compensation Support Directory – BEO a centralised resource designed to help victims find trusted support to secure the compensation to which they are entitled.
The directory brings together organisations and individuals spread across the country that can help claimants with their Windrush applications. From community organisations, Law Centres, University Legal Clinics and law firms, they can get the advice, support, or representation they need.
Kehinde Adeogun, Director of Legal Services and Policy Black Equity Organisation said:
“A recurring issue we see in our work on the Windrush scandal is the lack of a single, accessible place where people can find the support they need. Too often, claimants spend hours navigating fragmented information online. This directory is designed to change that, providing a clear, reliable route to support and helping to ease the burden on those already affected. We will continue to expand and update it over time.”
Hosted on BEO’s website,Windrush Compensation Support Directory – BEO the directory features an interactive map and user-friendly search tools. Users can enter their postcode, select the type of support they need, and set a travel distance to find relevant services. It is set up to help people who are making an initial Windrush Scheme application, challenging a compensation award at Tier 1 or Tier 2, or making a complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The directory also highlights organisations offering remote advice and support, ensuring accessibility for those unable to travel.
“Behind every claim is a person, and a family, whose life has been turned upside down by the Home Office Windrush scandal. Too many have been left to navigate a complex and distressing process without the support they need.
“BEO’s directory addresses a real and longstanding gap, bringing trusted advice and legal support together in one place for the first time. I would encourage anyone affected who has not yet accessed support, or who is struggling with their claim, to use it. Help is out there, and this makes it easier to find.”
BEO hopes the directory will support the thousands of people affected by the Windrush scandal, improving access to justice and enabling more individuals to secure the compensation they deserve.
There is no substitute for listening. Not reports, not statistics, not policy briefings. Listening to real people, in their own words, about what has actually happened to them.
That was the principle behind my decision to invite Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp to Pilgrim Church in Nottingham yesterday. This is where I began my work supporting victims of the Home Office Windrush Scandal, including many members of my own congregation. It felt right to bring the Minister here, not to a government building, not to a formal meeting room, but to the place where this community has gathered, grieved, and fought for justice.
What he heard, I hope, will stay with him.
Veronica Bell has lived with the consequences of the scandal for years. She was one of the opening case studies in Wendy Williams’ Lessons Learned Review. Her father was prevented from returning to the UK, decades of contribution rendered invisible by the very state he had served. She called it “the erasure of a life lived.” She described the compensation process as “retraumatising,” with applicants met with “disbelief and suspicion,” and was clear that justice means the Government restoring dignity and truly hearing the human impact of what was done.
Jeremy Prince spoke about the need to recognise, safeguard and celebrate African-Caribbean identity. A community that fears losing its voice and its place in the national story. Minister Tapp spoke about the beauty of Caribbean culture and the need for it be “celebrated and maintained.” He asked how Government, not just the Home Office, could play a role. That is an important question. The scandal is not a Home Office problem alone. Its roots run deeper, and so must the response.
Shelagh Parker brought the conversation back to an immigration system that is still failing people, processes that feel like a “tick box exercise,” carried out by caseworkers without the historical understanding the work demands. I pressed the Minister directly on this. Wendy Williams’ recommendations are clear: staff must understand the history of empire, the Commonwealth, and the communities who came to the UK in good faith. Minister Tapp agreed to look at how caseworkers can be better equipped. I will be watching to see what progress comes of that commitment.
Bishop Desmond Jaddoo raised the disproportionate criminalisation of Windrush-affected communities and urged younger descendants to secure their status and passports now, particularly given the current political climate. He also highlighted a troubling disconnect between Windrush Status Teams and HM Passport Office that has left some people wrongly refused passports they were fully entitled to. Minister Tapp acknowledged the difficult balance the Home Office must strike and recognised my role in helping Government get this right.
Reverend Mark Stewart closed with a challenge I echo: agree the outcomes, measure them, and make sure change actually happens. Young people with Windrush heritage need to feel that Britain is their country too, that they have a secure foundation here and a stake in its future.
I am grateful to everyone who spoke so honestly and with such courage. The Minister listened. Now we need to see what follows. Listening is not the end of accountability, it is the beginning of it. I will continue to hold the Government to every commitment made in that room.
Windrush Foundation was the first organisation to commemorate Windrush Day in 1995, but Sam King was the person who first conceived the idea back in 1967. He was among the cohorts who arrived in June 1948, and had coined the term ‘Windrush Generation’. Sam was born in Jamaica on 20 February 1926.
Were it not for him, the Empire Windrush might have disappeared into the mist of time. He was the driving force behind its commemoration, placing an advertisement on 24 December 1967 in the Weekly Gleaner newspaper asking for former Windrush passengers to contact him. The following year, he collaborated with The Sunday Times, which published a special supplement on 30 June 1968 commemorating the 20th anniversary of Windrush Day. Sam was so convincing that newspaper reporter Dick Adler travelled to Jamaica in April 1968 to find and interview former passengers there too.
Source: The Sunday Times (30 June 1968)
Sam continued his efforts in 1972 and again in August 1974, helping to organise interviews on BBC TV programmes, the latter being the Ship of Good Hope, narrated by James Cameron. The 1980s brought several crucial milestones. Sam King was elected Mayor of Southwark (1983/1984), during which he supported American actor Sam Wanamaker’s application for planning permission to rebuild the Globe Theatre — the Shakespearean playhouse originally built in 1599 and destroyed by fire in June 1613.
The 40th anniversary of Windrush Day was commemorated in June 1988, hosted by the Mayor of Lambeth at the Town Hall in Brixton, where a memorial plaque now stands at the entrance of the building. Sam was the organiser. That April, The Sunday Times covered the story again, publishing an article titled ‘Landfall for Empire’s Children’, and Sam also appeared on the Terry Wogan BBC TV show to promote the forthcoming commemoration.
Sam King and community advocate Arthur Torrington founded Windrush Foundation in 1995, and the organisation became a registered charity in 1996. In October 1997, Bernie Grant MP hosted the launch of Windrush ’50 at a reception at the House of Commons. National events were organised in 1998 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Windrush Day on 22 June. Sam was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) and, during that year, published his memoir titled Climbing Up the Rough Side of the Mountain. Windrush gained wider public recognition when Prince Charles (now King Charles III) held a reception for the Foundation at St James’s Palace. BBC TV also broadcast four episodes of a documentary called Windrush during June 1998.
Source: Windrush Foundation (1998)
Windrush Foundation’s first publication in 2005 was We Served, which honoured four Caribbean veterans of the Second World War who had served in Britain. In 2008, an oral history project produced a video and booklet called Windrush Pioneers. The 60th anniversary of Windrush Day was commemorated in June of that year, and Windrush Foundation collaborated with the Imperial War Museum on an exhibition called From War to Windrush, which brought together photographs of Second World War ex-service personnel and Windrush passengers. Sam himself was a former RAF Flight Engineer during the Second World War and had returned to Britain aboard the Empire Windrush.
Source: Windrush Foundation
In 2012, British audiences witnessed one of the most moving moments of the London Olympic Games opening ceremony, when dozens of Black people and a giant model of the Empire Windrush entered the stadium during the historical pageant, representing the Windrush Generation — the cohorts of June 1948.
Commemorating the 65th anniversary of Windrush Day on 22 June 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg issued a press release paying tribute to “the strength and resilience of the Windrush Generation and the lives they built in Britain.”
Sam passed away on 17 June 2016. The Times obituary, published three days later, described him as ‘Mr Windrush’.
Source: Windrush Foundation
The 70th anniversary in 2018 was overshadowed by what became known as the Windrush Scandal, which exposed the mistreatment of thousands of Caribbean settlers who had been wrongly denied their rights, detained, and in many cases deported despite having every right to live and work in the UK. Also in 2018, the Government publicly acknowledged 22 June as Windrush Day, instituting its commemoration as an annual national event.
During the 75th anniversary in 2023, Windrush Foundation created seven education resources, all freely downloadable at www.windrushfoundation.com. In 2024, the organisation collaborated with Transport for London as it renamed six overground rail lines, one of which — running from North to South London — is now called the Windrush Line. Sam was honoured at the launch.
His legacy endures in every commemoration, every resource, and every recognition that bears the name he worked so hard to preserve.
The Office of the Windrush Commissioner, which was created last year to hold the Government to account on its implementation of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, has held similar events in cities around the UK with the aim of ensuring the voices of affected communities are at the heart of the office’s advocacy.
Rev Foster told the ECHO: “The Windrush scandal is still live, and why it’s important that we have a session like we’re having in Liverpool is that there will be support given, there will be other organisations there that can relate to the problems people are having, and we can take those stories into real change.
“That’s what I’ve done in the past, and that’s why these listening events are really important to hold.”
The Windrush scandal, which first made the news in November 2017, resulted in the resignation of then-Home Secretary Amber Rudd after it emerged she had misled Parliament over deportation targets set by the Conservative government – which had led to many Windrush migrants (who legally arrived in the UK before 1973 from nations that were formerly part of the Empire and Commonwealth, particularly Caribbean countries) being threatened with deportation.
Many of these people were wrongly detained, denied legal rights and access to health and welfare services, and at least 83 were wrongly deported from the UK by the Home Office.
Previous community listening events, the most recent in Birmingham in January, have seen attendees raise concerns around the difficulties accessing legal support for compensation claims under the scheme first announced in December 2018.
A primary concern of the commissioner’s office is to provide assurance on the Home Office’s delivery of this scheme, including for survivors who are now overseas as a result of the scandal.
Rev Foster said: “My role is to scrutinise the Government and to take those stories that we’re hearing into the heart of government in terms of the ministers and Home Office officials to drive change.
“And that’s why we’ve already done that by making the claims of elderly survivors now a priority. We’ve also asked for those who have suffered losses in pensions that they get fully compensated, and those who are going through a review get advance payments.
“But there are still issues. Nearly six in 10 claims still result in what we call a zero or nil award and sadly, some 66 people have died without receiving justice.
“So the urgency is still there and the need for compassionate urgency and pushing that every survivor gets justice is still imperative.”
Liverpool is home to one of the oldest Windrush communities in Britain. The SS Ormonde transported 241 passengers from Jamaica to Liverpool in 1947, a year before the HMT Empire Windrush made land at the Port of Tilbury in Essex to far greater media attention.
Rev Foster told the ECHO: “Every city will have its own response, but I recognise Liverpool is a city that is diverse and a city that is not averse to understanding the importance of seeking justice on an institutional level, when we think of [things like] the Hillsborough disaster.
“But I’m not making any assumptions. This is an opportunity where you can come and speak to myself as the Windrush commissioner, to advocates, to the adjudicator team that also provides support, and to hear what kind of potential support could be available.
“This is open for anyone to attend, even if you don’t have a claim around compensation. But it’s important as well that, even if you’re just concerned about injustice, that you see this as an opportunity where you can come and hear, to see what needs to be done going forward.
“People’s voices matter. People’s voices can deliver change.”
Evoking Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’, the commissioner warned against complacency in the light of heightened tensions and political discourse around immigration eight years on from the scandal.
Rev Foster said: “Justice never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. We have to have active, intentional work to safeguard that this never happens again.”
He added: “The independent report that was done by Wendy Williams on the Windrush scandal said that the scandal was foreseeable, and it should have been preventable.
“So, given where we are now, it is important to say that the scandal emerged out of successive governments, and there needs to be a real intention that the lessons that we’ve learnt from Windrush do not happen again.
“And that’s why, whatever people are experiencing now – whether they are navigating complex immigration laws, changes to the nationality bill, ID cards – I want to be hearing from you: what are your concerns? What are you nervous about?
“Because what is at stake here is that we could be creating a situation where the most vulnerable people – as a result of policy changes – are the ones who are harmed. That cannot happen again.”
The commissioner stressed that Saturday “is not a Home Office event” and assured community members who may feel unsure about attending that it will be a “safe, secure space”.
Rev Foster told the ECHO: “I want to hear from people directly, and there will be other people there who are of that same persuasion locally who are acting as advocates, whether that’s the Liverpool Advocates for Windrush [the event’s co-hosts] or members of my team who are lived-experience workers who’ll be there to listen and support.
“And I want to say clearly to anyone who’s nervous: even if you don’t have a claim open – you don’t need documents, you don’t need a polished story – just come and share and listen, and we will push for change.”
Windrush Voices (Liverpool): From Harm to Repair will take place at Liverpool Central Library from 10am to 2pm on Sat, April 25. It is free to attend – with the option of attending online – and those interested in attending can reserve a spot here.
Last week, the National Audit Office published its report on Government’s Compensation and Financial Recognition Schemes. I welcome this independent scrutiny, and I am grateful to the NAO for engaging directly with my office, and with community organisations during its preparation.
The report highlights some genuine progress. Processing times have improved significantly, from an average of 14 months in 2020 to five months by 2025, with 62% of eligible claims now receiving a decision within three months. The single caseworker model has helped deliver a more consistent experience, though community groups continue to raise concerns about cultural understanding and empathy, which I will continue to monitor.
However, there remains significant progress to be made. Forty-two claims have been in progress for over a year. For those individuals, many of whom may be older, that is simply too long. I have consistently raised that the proportion of nil awards, which account for 56% of concluded claims, and the risk this poses of retraumatising claimants and undermining trust in the scheme. The NAO’s report reflects those concerns. My office will undertake a sample-based review of nil-award decisions to understand what factors are contributing to these outcomes, identify trends, and develop proposals to achieve meaningful reductions. I will share findings with the Home Office and directly with affected communities in due course.
The NAO notes reports that some cases initially refused were later reconsidered and compensation awarded following further engagement by solicitors. This suggests that access to appropriate support can have a meaningful impact on outcomes. While recent advocacy funding is welcome, there remains scope to strengthen provision, especially for those navigating reviews and more complex claims. Comparable compensation schemes have funded legal support, and I believe targeted, proportionate legal assistance would benefit claimants, improve the quality of applications, reduce the incidence of nil awards, and help limit costly and avoidable reviews.
The Windrush generation deserves a compensation scheme they can trust and that delivers for them. There has been progress, but more must be done, and I will continue to hold the government to account until that happens.
The Home Office has launched the 2026/27 round of the Community Engagement Fund, which is now open for applications on Find a Grant.
The fund makes £150,000 available to grassroots and community organisations to engage communities and raise awareness of Windrush.
Funded organisations will be expected to:
Raise awareness of the Windrush Compensation Scheme and Windrush Documentation Scheme, address misinformation, and encourage eligible individuals from Caribbean and non-Caribbean backgrounds to apply — including by holding at least one in-person event.
Build on existing Windrush outreach work to better understand why eligible individuals are not applying to the Schemes, and how to reach and encourage a wider audience to do so.
Improve trust and engagement with the Home Office by working directly with grassroots organisations to strengthen relationships and gather community-led insights.
Councillor Carole Williams, Chair of the Windrush Councils Network and Reverend Clive Foster, Independent Windrush Commissioner
Survivors of the Home Office Windrush Scandal will benefit from stronger, more consistent support, following the launch of a new network of local authorities committed to improving outcomes for affected communities.
The Windrush Councils Network launched earlier this month, bringing together founding councils from across England under the leadership of Independent Windrush Commissioner Reverend Clive Foster MBE. The launch was chaired by Councillor Carole Williams of Hackney Council, which is serving as the Network’s Lead Council.
The Network will provide a shared space for councils to exchange learning, strengthen local services, and ensure the voices of those directly affected shape the support they receive. Its core objectives are to increase awareness of the Windrush Scandal and the support available, improve residents’ access to council services and legal and welfare support, and promote a consistent and culturally competent response across local government.
Speaking at the launch, Independent Windrush Commissioner Reverend Clive Foster MBE said the Network was a vital part of the broader effort to restore justice for those affected.
“The impact of the Home Office Windrush Scandal is felt locally. Residents often come to their council first for guidance or support.
“The purpose of this network is simple: to coordinate consistent support for survivors, share what works, build trust, raise awareness in communities and ensure that every resident receives clear and accessible help.”
The Commissioner also highlighted that recommendations from his office have already led to concrete changes, including compensation for lost pensions, greater prioritisation for elderly and vulnerable claimants, and the introduction of advance payments for those going through the review process.
Councils discussed the barriers they face in supporting affected residents and shared examples of local action already underway. These included oral history projects to record the testimonies of Windrush elders, passing of specific council motions on Windrush, and annual Windrush Day events and celebrations. The discussion also highlighted that the scandal’s impact extends well beyond Caribbean communities, affecting people from across the Commonwealth and raising awareness among all affected groups remains a key challenge.
Councillor Carole Williams, Chair of the Windrush Councils Network, said:
“The story of the Windrush Generation lives on – in our streets, our culture, and our communities. The launch of the Windrush Councils Network brings together councils from across the country to unlock justice for those affected by the Home Office Windrush Scandal, rebuild trust, and amplify voices to ensure local experiences shape national policy.
“This is about more than remembrance. It’s about action, pride and progress.”
Members agreed the Network’s Terms of Reference and discussed plans to develop a Windrush Local Government Charter — a set of commitments setting out what strong and consistent council-level support for Windrush-affected communities should look like.
The Network also agreed to establish a Community Engagement and Advisory Panel to ensure that the lived experience of those affected by the scandal shapes its priorities and approach.
The next meeting of the Windrush Councils Network is planned for early June, ahead of Windrush Day, allowing members to coordinate their activities and celebrations together.
The Network currently includes Hackney, Birmingham, Wandsworth, Lambeth, Nottingham, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Brent, Watford, Manchester, Southwark, Greater London Authority and Bristol. Membership remains open to any local authority committed to improving support for Windrush-affected communities, and councils from across England and the other nations of the UK are encouraged to get in touch.
Reflections from Independent Windrush Commissioner, Clive Foster, following the listening and engagement event in Birmingham on 31st January.
A few weeks ago, I was back in Birmingham – a city with deep Windrush roots, and one I have always felt a deep connection to. When my parents came to this country as part of the Windrush generation, Birmingham was the place they first called home. So, coming back here, to listen to the experiences of people whose stories mirror so much of my own family’s journey, felt significant.
We gathered at the Legacy Centre. And the more I move through this work, the more that word – legacy – weighs on me.
I hear it in every conversation, every story shared across a table or in a quiet corner of a community hall. It is what this work is ultimately about: justice, healing, and what we leave behind.
To everyone who came through those doors on a Saturday morning – thank you. Some came with ideas – ways the schemes could work better, processes that could be simplified, changes that could make a real difference. Some came seeking answers. Others came to share experiences they’ve carried for years. Stories of pride, of loss, and of waiting too long for justice.
That willingness to show up, to speak, to challenge – it’s what drives this work forward.
Bringing services to the community
One of the things that made this event different was who else was in the room.
In one space, people could speak directly to those responsible for status, compensation, and reviews – Home Office staff from the Windrush Compensation Scheme and the Windrush Status Scheme, alongside a representative from the Adjudicator’s Office that handles reviews. My office was there too, ready to listen and support.
For me, this is what accessibility looks like in practice. The hurt and scars left by the scandal run deep, and I believe that healing begins when people can see an open, transparent, and approachable process – not a faceless system, but real people they can talk to, question, and trust. That human connection matters enormously.
It is much harder to dismiss someone’s concern when you are sitting across the table from them.
Questions didn’t have to travel through layers of process.
They could be asked and answered there and then. That matters. Too often, people feel distant from the systems that affect their lives. They write letters that go unanswered, make phone calls that lead nowhere, fill in forms and wait.
Events like this cut through that. They put the people running the schemes in the same room as the people the schemes were designed to serve.
It doesn’t solve everything. But these conversations are a necessary part of the path towards justice and healing – and for some people in that room, it was the first time they’d had a real conversation with someone who could help.
A room that listened – and pushed back
The atmosphere was one of openness, but also honest challenge. People didn’t hold back. They told me what isn’t working. They asked difficult questions, and they pushed for clearer, simpler information about who is eligible for the Windrush schemes and how to access them.
That message came through strongly. Too many people still don’t know whether they qualify, or feel overwhelmed by the process.
The application form is still seen as too long and too complex, and awareness that the schemes remain open is fading, which means people who are entitled to support may never come forward.
These aren’t just operational issues. They’re barriers to justice.
What people want to see
Several themes kept surfacing throughout the day.
People want greater public awareness of the Windrush schemes, not buried on a website, but visible in communities, in places people trust.
They want better support – whether that’s legal advice, help with paperwork, or simply someone in their corner. Navigating the compensation or status process alone can feel impossible, especially when you’re being asked to relive painful memories.
Having someone who understands the system and can help structure a claim, makes a real difference. I’ve heard this consistently, and I’ll be raising it directly with ministers.
And there was a question that stayed with me. How do we bring younger people into this?
Not just as beneficiaries, but as advocates – carrying forward the message, sharing the story, making sure the next generation understands what happened and why it still matters.
The Windrush story is not just history. It’s a living legacy.
And the people best placed to keep it alive are those who grew up hearing it around kitchen tables, in churches, in their communities.
Progress – but not the finish line
I was glad to have the chance to speak directly about what’s changed in the Compensation Scheme as a result of my recommendations.
Pension losses are now recognised. Advance payments are available for people whose cases are under review. Older and vulnerable claimants are being prioritised.
These changes came from listening. They came from survivors and community organisations telling me what needed to be different. And standing in that room, being able to say that their voices had led to real reform – that mattered.
But I also know we’re not done. For some people, there’s still frustration – about decisions that feel inconsistent, or about waiting years and receiving nothing.
While wait times have improved, I know that for those still in the system, every day matters. That frustration is justified. And I carry it with me into every conversation I have with ministers and officials.
Why events like this matter
Listening events aren’t about ticking a box or being seen in the right places. They’re about creating space – for people to be heard, for services to be accessible, and for me to understand what’s really happening on the ground.
What I hear shapes what I take to ministers and Home Office officials. It informs the changes I push for. It holds me accountable.
I’ll be reflecting carefully on everything I heard in Birmingham. The themes that emerged, around awareness, legal and advocacy support, and engaging the next generation, will directly shape my next set of recommendations to government. This isn’t listening for the sake of it. It’s listening that leads to action.
Justice shouldn’t only happen in Westminster. It needs to be visible, accessible, and rooted in the communities it’s meant to serve. That’s what we tried to build in Birmingham, and what I’ll keep building in the months ahead.
Thank you
If you were in that room – thank you. Thank you for your honesty, your challenge, and your trust.
And if you weren’t, my door is still open.
Keep telling me and my office about your experiences, whether it’s about the compensation process, securing your status, or the wider questions of accountability and Windrush legacy.
Your story is part of this. And it’s your story that will shape what comes next.
Justice is still being sought, healing is still underway, and the legacy of this generation must still be properly honoured. That work continues — and Birmingham reminded me exactly why it must.
