The Windrush scandal shows the government's racism

Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

As someone who arrived in Britain with my mother days before my fifth birthday in 1948 I have followed the Windrush story with more than interest and considerable empathy. We were not even from the Commonwealth. We were refugees from eastern Europe. My parents had to register with the Aliens Department which I seem to remember was bracketed with firearms.

They never resented this, but felt safe in this country. They applied and got naturalisation as soon as my father had been in this country five years. Their fear had always been of enforced repatriation to what was no longer the country they had grown up in, meaning certain death at the hands of the occupying power, the Soviet Union.

The fact that such betrayals were known about at the time was demonstrated in the play Cockpit recently staged at the Royal Lyceum. Yet the effect of the Nazi-Soviet pact on the Baltic States and Poland is glossed over.

I grew up knowing that my status as “British by naturalisation” was inferior to those actually British born, but my security was shaken when renewing my passport 20 years ago. On all previous occasions I had merely sent in the old passport and a form.

Now, because of changes in regulations I had to produce documents I didn’t know I had: my birth certificate, which was irreplaceable, but was in Latvian on high acid content paper; a translation of it by a colleague of my mother’s on University of Edinburgh paper; naturalisation certificate, added to my father’s certificate; and a very tatty copy of the change of surname in a copy of the Edinburgh Gazette.

My mother late in life came to resent the question “Where do you come from?”, often asked with malicious intent. I remember, in the Eighties, being employed (because I sound native British), to book a room in a B&B for a Russian dissident whose own enquiry had been turned down because she sounded foreign.

There is a difference between racism and xenophobia. The Home Office seems to be suffering from both.

Marina Donald (nee Grinbergs, later Greene)
Edinburgh

I have lived in the UK for just over 70 years and have never been asked for a passport or proof of citizenship when applying for a job, seeking accommodation or needing healthcare or other public services. The Windrush people have lived in the UK for up to 70 years but have experienced difficulties on all of these counts. Why the difference? Simple – I am white (though not of UK ancestry) while the Windrush people are black.

This is further proof that racism is embedded in many aspects of service provision in the UK. Unfortunately it looks as if much more time will be needed before our society is truly colour blind, and this is going to be a challenge for all of us.

Sam Boote
Nottingham

I hope someone’s looking into why Windrush records were destroyed

As a citizen, I am of course shocked by the government’s callous treatment of numerous British citizens from the Caribbean. As a historian, I am shocked by the destruction of the historical records.

The National Archive’s own website states the law: “The Public Records Act requires central government departments, and certain other public bodies, to identify records of historical value and transfer them for permanent preservation to The National Archives, or to another appointed place of deposit, by the time they are 30 years old.”

There is no doubt about the historical value of the documents that were destroyed, and to say that their preservation contravened data protection laws, as a government spokesperson has maintained, is absolute rubbish. I trust that the National Archives are themselves looking into this matter.

Edward James
Stoke-on-Trent

Amber Rudd for PM

How ridiculous to put pressure on Amber Rudd to resign over the shameful way the Windrush immigrants have been treated, when she was the one with the guts to admit the Home Office (under May) got things disastrously wrong. Theresa May is the one who should resign and be replaced by Amber Rudd.

The next step has to be to guarantee rights and an end of the hostility towards those who came from the EU to work here. Already the hostile atmosphere encouraged by what we must now recognise as May’s very own Nasty Party has driven too many talented professionals away and discouraged others from coming.

Helen Watson
Reading

A better idea – let’s deport the UK government

With the inhumanity of the Windrush scandal unfolding before us; with our NHS in crisis through underfunding and government interference; with our prison population self-harming and committing suicide at unprecedented rates because of the poor management and underfunding of our prisons service; with disabled people being driven to depression and suicide over disgracefully harsh and arbitrary decisions about their benefit entitlements; with teachers’ and pupils’ stress levels being driven through the roof over excessive testing and government interference in our education system; with the less well-off having to go to food banks to survive... would someone please forcibly deport the entire government to some distant shores so we can build a fair society in which to live?

Joe Hennessy
Faversham

Conservatives are what they say on the tin

It seems nonsensical to me to decry a Conservative for being a Conservative. Would anyone say a dog should behave like a cat? No, of course not. Conservative MPs are elected to conserve the present economic and political system. They shouldn’t be criticised for playing the system to their maximum advantage. It is in place to permit those with capital to do so.

If the population wishes for a fairer system for all, they should vote for politicians who are motivated to introduce one. Politicians for whom personal gain is not a consideration. There are not many about.

Geoff Naylor
Winchester

We can’t pretend the rape clause is caring

Regarding Esther McVey’s “rape clause”, I take it that the “caring and specialist” interviewers questioning the victims will be blessed with the skills that the Tory approach to screening disability benefits lacked, or am I dreaming?

C A Milne
West Linton

Forgotten costs

Regarding Tom Church and getting from London (north) to Bristol, the figures quoted for train travel don’t include getting to the main starting points in London – ie Victoria (coach) or the London main railway stations. Car travel is door-to-door, and if there are additional passengers, everyone benefits.

Wendy Draper
Winchester

Brits ought to stop complaining

Having worked on a cruise ship for a short time many years ago as the passenger liaison officer, I am well aware that the British love to complain.

However, in recent times there have been some complaints that are quite illogical.

Recently, a person who lived near a farm complained of the clucking of the hens.

Not so long ago a newcomer to a village complained about the ringing of the church bells.

And finally, a person complained about a stall holder advertising his fruit and vegetables in the time honoured way of calling out about his products.

If natural farm sounds offend, why buy a property close to a farm?

If you find normal village sounds, such as church bells, annoying, why move to a village and live close to a church?

If you find centuries old market traditions irritating, why go to the market?

Finally, why do the authorities jump when they receive just one rather irrational complaint?

Colin Bower
Sherwood

VTB is in no way involved in the Syrian conflict

I am writing to you regarding a recent article published by The Independent on 14 April titled “When countries drop bombs, people lose their heads – sometimes literally” by Andrew Buncombe. I would like to draw your attention to the quotes of the British-French journalist Ben Judah used in the article, where he accuses the Russian state bank VTB of being involved in the Syrian conflict. This claim has no grounds whatsoever and can be very damaging for our reputation.

I’d like to stress that VTB group conducts all its operations in full compliance with applicable rules and regulations including restrictive measures imposed by domestic or foreign organisations and governments, as well as those against Syria. VTB bank has never had any business or consulting activity of any kind with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his regime or the ruling elite aligned with him.

The bank’s shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. VTB is a solely commercial bank, which has never had any politically motivated deals.

So I’d like to kindly ask you for an opportunity to share my point of view on this with your readers.

Andrey Kostin, Chairman & CEO, VTB