25 MPs says important report demonstrates how immigration policy has excluded people of colour by design for decades
As reported by the Guardian yesterday, Clive Lewis and 24 other black, Asian and minority ethnic MPs have written to the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, expressing concerns regarding the findings of the recently published independent report on the historical roots of the Windrush Scandal.
Image credit: WikipediaThe report was made public by the Home Office last month after a Tribunal ordered its release. For two years, the previous Conservative government had sought to withhold the report, arguing its release might hinder the future development of immigration policy. The report found that the "deep-rooted racism" of the Windrush Scandal was a symptom of the complex history of the British Empire and the subsequent actions of postwar governments, which have shaped race and racism as political and social issues in the UK.
In their letter to the Home Secretary, Clive Lewis and the other MPs said the important report "demonstrates how immigration policy and legislation has been designed to exclude and other people of colour in the UK for decades".
The MPs also highlighted how the report serves as a reminder that immigration legislation and its framing cannot be uncoupled from racism and the exclusion of people of colour.
They stated: "As the government prepares its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we encourage urgent reflection on the role of policy and the narratives that accompany them, in enabling environments for racism. Following the shocking events of racist violence this summer, the government has an important opportunity to recognise the conclusions of this report and shift the dial. This means action to acknowledge the links between racism and hostile migration policies, and a commitment to building a fair and compassionate system which ensures that another Windrush Scandal cannot happen again."
The Home Secretary is urged to use the report's findings as a chance to reset relationships with racial justice organisations, allowing for their expertise, evidence, and experiences to shape and inform policy from the outset.
The original letter is available here on the website of Clive Lewis MP. You can read a full copy below.
Clive Lewis MP
Member of Parliament for Norwich South
House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 5593
7 October 2024
Secretary of State for the Home Department
via email
Dear Home Secretary,
We are writing following the publication of the independent report The historical roots of the Windrush scandal, which concludes that "30 years of racist immigration legislation" caused the Windrush scandal.
This important report outlines the deep-rooted racism that lies at the heart of the Windrush Scandal, which saw mainly Black British citizens wrongly detained and deported, to devastating consequences. The research demonstrates how immigration policy and legislation has been designed to exclude and other people of colour in the UK for decades.
We are concerned to learn these important conclusions were buried by the Home Office over the past three years, despite repeated Freedom of Information requests. When coupled with the continued failures of the Home Office's Windrush compensation scheme, attempts to bury these findings underpin the deep-seated institutional and cultural failures of the Department.
Written as a response to Williams Review (2022), this research demonstrates the central role that the erasure and distortion of histories of race, migration and Empire in our education system and popular understanding has played in the gap that persists in policy-making and its racialised impacts. It could not be more urgent to heed recommendations for change, as outlined in this and the Macpherson Inquiry (1999) and embed an understanding of the history of the UK, and its relationship with the rest of the world, across government. It is critical that the Curriculum and Assessment review engages with anti-racist principles and racial justice organisations; we encourage it to follow the findings of this research, and embed statutory topics on race, migration and the British Empire into our school curricula.
The report also emphasises the damages done to the relationship between the Home Office and race equality organisations in the second half of the twentieth century. We urge the government to use this opportunity to reset relationships with racial justice organisations so that there is an opportunity for expertise, evidence and experience to help shape and define policy at the outset.
Finally, this report reminds us that immigration legislation and its framing cannot be uncoupled from racism and the exclusion of people of colour. As the government prepares its Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we encourage urgent reflection on the role of policy and the narratives that accompany them, in enabling environments for racism. Following the shocking events of racist violence this summer, the government has an important opportunity to recognise the conclusions of this report and shift the dial. This means action to acknowledge the links between racism and hostile migration policies, and a commitment to building a fair and compassionate system which ensures that another Windrush Scandal cannot happen again.
We look forward to hearing from you about how your Department intends to respond to the concerns we have raised.
Yours sincerely,
Clive Lewis MP
Norwich South
Diane Abbott MP
Abtisam Mohamed MP
Bayo Alaba MP
Kate Osamor MP
Calvin Bailey MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Apsana Begum MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
David Burton-Sampson MP
Naz Shah MP
Dawn Butler MP
Zarah Sultana MP
Marsha de Cordova MP
Tony Vaughan MP
Paulette Hamilton MP
Valerie Vaz MP
Rupa Huq MP
Yuan Yang MP
Imran Hussain MP
Mohammad Yasin MP
Natasha Irons MP
Kim Johnson MP
Afzal Khan MP
Uma Kumaran MP