Home Office apologises for 'insensitively' handling dying mum's Windrush compensation claim
The Home Office scheme’s processing of Caroline Tobierre's payment was handled insensitively as the family was asked to provide detailed personal financial evidence shortly after she died.
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The Source: Home Office apologises for 'insensitively' handling dying mum's Windrush compensation claim
The family says they ‘were not treated like victims at all’ and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman is calling for improvements to the Windrush Compensation Scheme after it failed to provide proper compensation to the Tobierre family.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
SEPTEMBER 18, 2025
The Home Office has apologised for “insensitively” handling a dying wife’s Windrush compensation claim and have now also paid her husband £25,000 after failing to ‘properly compensate’ him by including his pension losses.
The Windrush scandal saw British citizens who were mainly Black wrongly stripped of their citizenship and rights including access to work, healthcare and housing, while many were deported and even threatened with deportation.
Thomas Tobierre, 71, who was part of the Windrush generation and arrived in the UK from St Lucia aged seven in 1960 was left unable to work after he was made redundant and could not get another job as a result of the scandal.
He was then forced to survive on savings and cash from his private pension worth around £14,000 but his offer of compensation excluded the money he lost by using it.
After years of suffering at the hands of the Home Office scandal, Thomas was granted citizenship when the wrongdoing was exposed in 2018.
But shortly after, his family was dealt another blow when his late wife Caroline was then diagnosed with Stage 4 bowel cancer and later a brain tumour.
With only months to live, Caroline applied for compensation which she was also entitled to for the impact the scandal had also had on her life.
But in 2021, she died before receiving the urgent payment needed to cover her funeral costs despite a request for it to be expedited.
Now, an investigation by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) which looks at complaints against government departments has found that the Home Office scheme did not consider all of the evidence properly in Caroline’s claim and processing her payment was handled insensitively as the family was then asked to provide detailed personal financial information and evidence shortly after she died.
Futhermore, WCS failed to properly compensate the family as it excluded Thomas’s private pension loss from the offer he was given.
Following the findings, the PHSO ordered the Home Office to pay Thomas and Charlotte £25,000 and recommended they apologise to the family for not handling Caroline’s case sensitively.
Looking back at the painful process, Charlotte says that as a result of the compensation scheme’s failings, her family ‘missed spending precious time together.’
Charlotte said: “It was exhausting. We were absolutely consumed by it and that overshadowed my mum’s cancer journey.
“I felt sad afterwards thinking we wasted so much time talking about Windrush and we missed spending precious time together.”
The family says they don’t feel as though they were treated like “victims at all.”
Charlotte said: “It almost feels like my mum and dad had done something wrong. It didn’t feel like they were victims at all, it felt hard and harsh and the time that it took was just unbelievable.
“When I started the first claim about pension loss, we started it as a three, my Dad, me and my Mum, and it's sad that we end it with just me and my Dad.”
In 2024, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) published a report highlighting that the Scheme, set up by the Home Office in response to the Windrush scandal, was “in some cases making wrong decisions and withholding payments.”
Since 2021, PSHO has looked into 68 complaints about the Scheme and secured over £430,000 in compensation for people wrongly denied payment.
The Home Office is now reviewing its decision to exclude private pension losses from claims which could mean others are entitled to more compensation, the PHSO says.
Since the scheme was launched, at least 66 people have died while waiting for compensation.
Now, the ombudsman is calling for improvements to the WCS after it failed to provide proper compensation to Thomas’s family.
Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Chief Executive Rebecca Hilsenrath KC (Hon) said: “The Windrush Compensation Scheme was set up to right wrongs, but complaints like this show it is not working as it should.
“Improvements in how the Scheme operates are needed and I hope the appointment of the new Windrush Commissioner will drive forward these much-needed changes.
“The impact of this case has been profound for Thomas and Charlotte. Not only was the whole process long and confusing, but Thomas was not properly compensated for his pension loss.
“The Scheme’s insensitive handling added to the family’s grief after Caroline’s death and compounded their distress as they missed out on precious time together.
“We know those impacted are less likely to make complaints. However, it is really important that people come forward with their concerns.
“We know that there is important learning we need to do nationally about how we develop effective, user-friendly compensation schemes. By making a complaint and sharing their story, those affected can help improve public services for everyone and help stop mistakes from being repeated.”
A Home Office spokesperson told The Source: “This government is delivering on its commitment to ensure Windrush victims' voices are heard, justice is sped up and the compensation scheme is run effectively.
“Since coming to office, we have re-established the Windrush Unit and appointed the first Windrush Commissioner.
“We have accepted all of the Ombudsman’s recommendations and have apologised to the Tobierre family.”