Windrush draft 'branding Home Office institutionally racist was watered down'

‘The victims’ nationality and rights were denied because of the colour of their skin,’ says Labour MP David Lammy

Guidance used by Home Office caseworkers to assess whether people trafficked to the UK can be sent back to Vietnam or Albania is said to be 'significantly misleading' (AFP)

Ministers have been warned not to water down a review into the Windrush scandal after it was reported a portion branding the Home Office “institutionally racist” had been stripped out.

The delayed independent review was commissioned after people who had lived for decades in the UK and were entitled to be here were wrongfully detained or deported to the Caribbean.

The Times reported sources saying the phrase “institutionally racist” was included in an earlier draft of the Windrush review led by inspector of constabulary Wendy Williams but it had subsequently been removed.

Labour MP David Lammy, a vocal campaigner over the scandal caused by the department’s “hostile environment” policy, demanded that the “truth must be published in full”.

“The Windrush scandal resulted in the systematic deportation and detention of black British citizens by the UK Home Office,” the Tottenham MP said.

“The victims’ nationality and rights were denied because of the colour of their skin. If this is not institutionally racist I have no idea what is.

“It would be an outrage and an insult to the Windrush generation for Wendy Williams’s independent review to be watered down for political reasons.”

Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the Home Affairs Committee, tweeted: “The Wendy Williams review into Windrush was supposed to be independent.

“It’s one thing for Home Office to check facts. But it wd be completely unacceptable for Home Office to try to water down review’s conclusions and judgements about what went wrong.”

The Home Office did not deny the report had been toned down.

“This is an independent review being led by Wendy Williams,” a spokesperson said.

“She has not yet submitted the final report to the Home Office.

“Once we have received it, we will publish it as soon as practicable. Ministers have not seen any version of the report.”

Sir David Normington, a former Home Office permanent secretary from 2006 to 2011, said he was “surprised” to see reports that the department was institutionally racist but admitted it faced challenges to ensure everyone was treated fairly.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Of course that [the Windrush scandal] was a terrible set of cases, which had terrible impacts on individuals. As I say, certainly in my time, the Home Office that I led was not institutionally racist.”

Asked if there was an issue with handling of cases being rushed, he said: “I think one of the issues about the Home Office is it deals with hundreds of thousands of cases and to make sure that you treat every individual fairly in that kind of system is difficult.”