More than half of Windrush scandal claimants denied compensation latest figures show
An alarming 64% of eligible Windrush compensation claimaints have been denied a payout, according to Home Office data
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The Source Exclusive: More than half of Windrush scandal claimants denied compensation latest figures show
Windrush scandal victims who lost their homes, jobs and had their families torn apart have been told they will receive nothing from the compensation scheme set up to bring justice. They say the Home Office is not equipped to deal with a scandal they created.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
JUNE 30, 2025
More than half of eligible Windrush scandal compensation scheme claimants were denied payouts, shocking Home Office data shows.
The scandal which was exposed in 2018 saw people who were mainly Black, wrongly stripped of their rights as British citizens resulting in losing access to healthcare, housing and employment, with many even detained and deported for years going back as far as the 1980s.
Now, damning Home Office figures show that a staggering 5,594 eligible claimants were denied compensation which makes up an alarming 64 percent refusal rate as of May 2025.
With those who lost their homes, livelihoods and suffered an insurmountable trauma still battling for justice seven years later, they say that the scheme ‘tears’ at them and claim that the Home Office is ‘institutionally racist’ and has “no intention” of paying for their wrongs.
Carl Nwazota, 51, born in Wembley, London, was told he was no longer British after applying to renew his passport to go on holiday in 2000.
Despite losing his job, being made homeless and forced to live in his van as a result of the Windrush scandal, he says that after applying for compensation, he was given nothing by the Home Office also known as ‘£0.00 nil award.’
Carl said: “We as victims have done everything we’ve been asked to do. We’ve jumped through every hoop and it’s just never enough.
“The refusal rate is proving the fact that their compensation is working exactly how they designed it to.
“It’s deliberate. It’s unacceptable. It’s a disgrace. The UK Home Office is institutionally racist and is not equipped to deal with trying to give redress and compensation to victims of a scandal they created.
“Not only do they not want to take responsibility, but they don’t want to pay anybody.”
A recent study by law reform charity Justice, the University of Sussex and the law firm Dechert also found that Windrush scandal victims received significantly less compensation when applying without a lawyer compared to when they had legal representation.
The Post Office and infected Blood compensation schemes provide government funded legal advice for claimants however, the Windrush compensation scheme (WCS) does not - a disparity that Windrush scandal victims previously told The Source they believed was “blatant racism.”
A comparative study by Kings College London from February 2024 also found that the WCS had the highest refusal rate out of scandals relating to state harm at the time which was 53 percent.
The study found that the Lambeth Children’s Home Redress Scheme had an eight percent refusal rate, the Horizon Shortfall Scheme had 17 percent and the Infected Blood Interim support scheme had a zero percent refusal rate.
Hetticia McIntosh, 69, who served in the British army says she ‘sleeps thinking about the compensation scheme’ after her husband Vanderbilt McIntosh, 70, also known as Vaun - who worked as a paint maker was denied a payout, despite losing his job and subsequently their home when they were stripped of their citizenship in the 1980s.
Hetticia said: “This scheme is horrendous. It tears at you. I'm sleeping, and I'm thinking about it.
“[The Windrush scandal] caused my marriage to nearly fail. This thing caused me to have problems with my own mother. It's very hard to remember the hurtful things.
“[At the time], I said to my mum, ‘you just did not do what you were supposed to do [when we were kids.] What you did wasn’t good enough.’
“I submitted my application for compensation on the 17th of November. My mother died on the 19th of November. Two days later.
“This year is 40 years since this thing happened to us. It affects you, because it's tiring and it's frustrating, especially after so many years.
“They’re making us jump through hoops. Its insidious. [The refusal rate] just shows that their compensation scheme is more of a gesture and is not something that they want to do.”
Hetticia arrived in the UK from Barbados in 1963 at the age of eight and went on to meet her husband Vaun who had entered Britain from St Lucia at the age of five.
After decades of living in the UK, the couple were told they were no longer considered citizens and were forced to move to the Caribbean which left them feeling “stateless.”
Following a gruelling 40 years, they were finally given back their British citzenship in 2020, two years after the scandal was exposed.
Since being refused payment for the losses and trauma Hetticia and her husband experienced, they were able to receive help from pro bono lawyer Van Ferguson at Southwark Law Centre and the Windrush Justice Clinic.
After applying through the scheme with the lawyer’s help, Hetticia says she was then told she would be awarded £40,000 in compensation but that her husband Vaun would still receive nothing, with the Home Office stating that he had ‘lost his status’ after moving to St Lucia - even though he was forced to move due to the government’s own scandal.
Van says that Vaun’s application is now being considered for a fourth time.
Hetticia said: “[The situation] is worse now, because it's like, you've got a sore that you thought was healed, and then all of a sudden, you've got to heal again, which this time, is more painful and it takes longer.”
The mum-of-three is calling for legal aid to be provided to Windrush claimants as she hopes that she and her husband will be able to leave something to her children - a goal she is more determined to achieve after a near-death experience from catching Covid.
She said: “I nearly died and then you realise your mortality.
“When I was released from hospital, I was on a virtual ward with oxygen tanks in my bedroom, and a mask on my face not being able to breathe naturally.
“That's when I decided, ‘you know what? I've got three children, and if there's anything to be had, let them get it.’
Since the scandal broke, over 50 people have died waiting for compensation.
In April, the government announced a £1.5 million Advocacy Fund however, Hetticia says this cannot substitute the crucial legal advice Windrush scandal victims need to deal with the complexity of their cases as she continues to fight for her husband’s compensation.
Recalling the process of applying through the WCS, Hetticia’s pro bono lawyer Van says he provided over 900 supporting documents, whereas the 69-year-old’s initial application contained nowhere near that amount, and she was initially refused.
But as well as Hetticia’s campaign for justice, Southwark Law Centre has been granted permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal after the High Court ruled that Windrush victims were not entitled to legal aid.
A hearing will take place in December this year but in the meantime, Hetticia has launched her own petition to try to get government funded legal advice for those still battling the Home Office.
The Home Office was contacted for comment but did not wish to provide an official statement.
Instead they told The Source to refer to their press release on the £1.5million Advocacy Fund.
For more information about Hetticia’s petition which is close to gaining 1000 signatures, you can click here.
*This story was updated to include that Vaun’s application is being considered for a fourth time.