WINDRUSH campaigners slammed the Home Office compensation scheme this weekend and called for a complete “revamp.”

The call came at a candlelit vigil held in Windrush Square, Brixton, to mark the sixth anniversary of the Windrush scandal being exposed.

More than 50 people, including campaigners and religious leaders, lit candles and prayers were read to remember those who had since died.

Windrush National Organisation chairman Bishop Desmond Jaddoo said the sacrifices and contributions made by the Windrush generation must never be forgotten.

Campaigner Professor Patrick Vernon called for the compensation scheme to be “completely revamped.”

He said: “The community does not trust the Home Office.

“It is the same directorate running the compensation scheme that deals with deportation flights and detention centres.”

Prof Vernon said victims and their descendants suffered “personal stress, depression and anxiety” as a result of the scandal and at least 53 people had died before receiving compensation.

“So, it doesn’t feel like there’s any kind of neutrality,” he said. 

“The government talks about righting the wrongs, so I think it is only fair and reasonable for there to be a degree of independence.”

An Age UK report released in February found several areas of the compensation scheme had failed those affected.

The report found that by the end of 2023, of those the Home Office estimated to be eligible only 1,993 individuals had been offered compensation, fewer than one in seven.

The charity has called for an independent body to take over the running of the compensation scheme.

The scandal first received widespread public attention in 2018 over the treatment of the Windrush generation — named after the ship that brought migrants to Britain from the Caribbean in 1948.

Commonwealth citizens who arrived in the UK before 1973 were automatically granted indefinite leave to remain. 

Some were later challenged over their immigration status and denied access to healthcare and benefits, unlawfully detained and even deported.

The British government promised to right the wrongs but the compensation scheme, launched in April 2019, has been repeatedly criticised for the speed at which claims are being processed and payments made.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is committed to righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal and making sure those affected receive the compensation they rightly deserve.”