Windrush victims told impact of scandal “not profound” and “irreversible” by Home Office scheme
The couple who lost their home and were forced to leave the country have labelled the Home Office "inhumane"
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The Source Exclusive: Windrush victims told impact of scandal “not profound” and “irreversible” by Home Office scheme
One of the largest trade unions in the UK, UNISON is calling for the Home Office to urgently review its decision on their compensation claim and pay for the years of trauma the couple have endured.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
NOVEMBER 24, 2025 UPDATED 17.29
A couple who were forced to leave the country due to Windrush scandal say they have been told by the Home Office’s compensation scheme that the impact it had on their lives was “not profound” to the extent it was “likely to be irreversible.”
The Windrush scandal which was exposed in 2017 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.
Ex-British Army servicewoman Hetticia and former paint maker Vanderbilt McIntosh both aged 70 had their British nationality revoked in 1970s and 1980s which led to them losing their jobs, leaving them unable to pay their mortgage and forced to uproot their three young children and move to St Lucia.
But now, following the most recent review of their compensation claim in their nearly five-year long battle, Vanderbilt also known as Vaun who arrived in the UK aged five has had his application completely rejected for a fifth time.
To further add to the pain of Vanderbilt’s claim being denied, his wife Hetticia who was recently hospitalised for stress induced high blood pressure says that in a letter from the Home Office compensation scheme, she was informed that she could only receive a certain level of compensation as the impact on her life was “not profound” to the extent that it was “irreversible.”
Now, since reading the latest distressing decisions which have seen the couple treated completely differently despite enduring the scandal together- Hetticia says she has not accepted the compensation offer and has labelled the Home Office “inhumane.”
Speaking to The Source, the pensioner who says she now has post-traumatic stress disorder from navigating the Home Office scheme said:
“How can I turn back the hands of time and change all what has happened?
“How can I reverse the changes that it made to my children?
“My son had to drop out of university so that he could go and get a job at Foot Locker to be able to help us financially.
“My husband lost his job. We could not afford to pay our mortgage. We were forced to sell our home in order for it not to be repossessed, but that still meant that we found ourselves homeless.
“My children had to spend 10 years abroad. Out of their own country. How can I change that?
“How can I change the bullying that they went through and the pain they went through because they spoke with the English accent and they were not a part of the St Lucian community.
“How can I change the effects that it has had on my health, on my marriage?
“All these years, you’re fighting and fighting and fighting. And that is what manifested with my blood pressure going up because of all the stress and the fighting all of these years.
“They are minimising the damage that’s been done. They sit behind the desk and they make decisions that destroy people’s lives.
“We are now 70 so, we only have the next 15 years. What can I reverse in the next 15 years?”
Vanderbilt was told that by the Home Office scheme that he would be awarded £0.00 as he had re-entered the UK in 1993 and was stamped as a “visitor.”
The Home Office says that this shows he lost his British status and therefore prevents him from receiving compensation, even though his grandfather was Scottish and his status loss was as a result of the scandal which the government admitted was wrong.
Throughout the process, Hetticia says that she and her husband have ‘never been assigned a caseworker’ who they can explain their situation to. As a result, she believes the Home Office is looking for “every excuse” to deny them justice.
She said: “We have never been assigned a caseworker, and no one had ever reached out to us to speak to us pertaining to our cases.
“We were only just seeing reviews and decisions being made without any communication from us.
“If you got an opportunity then to speak to a caseworker and they have a conversation with you as a human being, then you could afford to explain your situation and show them your proof.
“But that is not the case. That has not been the case for myself and for my husband.
“They talk about righting the wrongs. I have not seen them right any wrongs. I see that they are compounding the wrongs.
“I see that they are looking for every excuse to nil award.”
The couple has now received backing from one of the largest trade unions in the UK- UNISON which is calling for the Home Office to urgently review its decision and to pay the pensioners compensation for the “years of trauma” they’ve experienced.
UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea told The Source: “Hetticia and Vaun’s fight for justice exposes the multiple failures at the heart of the Windrush scandal.
“There must be an urgent review by the Home Office of its treatment of this couple and full compensation provided for the years of trauma and mistreatment they’ve endured.
“They’re the children of nurses who answered Britain’s call to rebuild public services and strengthen the NHS. In return, they’ve suffered distress at the hands of the very system their parents helped support.”
As previously reported by The Source, as of May 2025, Home Office figures showed that a staggering 5,594 eligible claimants were denied compensation which makes up an alarming 64 percent refusal rate.
As well as being denied compensation, 66 people have died while waiting to receive a payment.
Christina says that justice ‘remains out of reach’ and continues to “pile on further misery” for victims.
She said: “This case underlines a wider truth – that justice remains out of reach for too many families from the Windrush generation.
“Promises of redress have been made, yet delays, hurdles and inadequate support continue to pile further misery on the original wrongdoing.
“Every victim of this injustice deserves dignity, recognition and the compensation they’re owed without delay.”
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “This government is working to ensure justice and compensation for victims of the Windrush Scandal is delivered as quickly as possible.
“Some cases are more complex than others, but we will always work with each individual to get them the support they need.”
They are being retraumatised every single time. Some MPs aren’t that interested from my experience
Thank you Melissa for speaking on this!! These are my clients and we are still fighting!! If you need any further information or more examples of the scheme failures and our next steps which include a people's inquiry please email me: Subira@londoncitynexus.co.uk