Black official quits ‘racist’ Windrush compensation scheme over its failure to help victims

‘It’s not just racism. It is an unwillingness to look with any curiosity or genuine concern at the situation of victims’

A black official helping to run the Windrush compensation scheme quit over “racism” and its failure to help victims, in a fresh controversy for Priti Patel, the home secretary.

Alexandra Ankrah, the head of policy, has revealed she walked out over the attitudes of fellow staff – many of whom had implemented hostile environment policies – which meant vulnerable people were being “re-traumatised”.

“The results speak for themselves: the sluggishness of getting money to people, the unwillingness to provide information and guidance that ordinary people can understand,” the former barrister said.

“It’s not just racism. It is an unwillingness to look with any curiosity or genuine concern at the situation of victims, many of whom were elderly and unwell.”

Ms Ankrah told The Guardian how her colleagues discussed whether one terminally ill claimant should “be paid a trifling sum or a very trifling sum”, accusing them of a “complete lack of humanity”.

One told her “people should be happy with whatever they get”, while a Home Office lawyer said, “If they die without a will then too bad, they should have made a will”, she alleged.

“These were the very same people who hadn’t questioned the Windrush situation in the first place,” Ms Ankrah said.

“It is unusual, is it not, to have the same bit of the organisation in charge of the complaints? You normally have some type of separation at least to show credibility.”

Just £1.6m has been paid out to 196 people in the first 18 months of the compensation scheme – more than two years after the Windrush scandal broke.

It was estimated that between £200m and £570m would be paid out to thousands of people. At least nine people have died before receiving the compensation they applied for.

Meanwhile, Ms Patel – who is responsible for the scheme – was criticised for an “improvement plan” which suggested the hostile environment measures would remain in place until at least 2022.

The Home Office declined to comment on the resignation, but a spokesperson said: “We take any allegations of racism very seriously and any accusation is thoroughly investigated by the department.

“We reject any suggestion that the Windrush compensation scheme is discriminatory or that it does not support victims.”

The Guardian also revealed that separate complaints about discrimination within a different Home Office team researching the causes of the Windrush scandal led to an internal investigation.

About 20 members of staff working on the independent Windrush Lessons Learned review, carried out by Wendy Williams, were interviewed by a civil service “equality, diversity and inclusion” officer, it reported.

The Home Office spokesperson added, on the scheme: “It was designed with victims’ interests at heart and to cover every conceivable circumstance in which a person may have found themselves.”