Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Indians third largest group affected by Windrush scandal

Indians have emerged as the third-largest group affected by the Windrush immigration scandal involving Commonwealth nationals being wrongly denied their citizenship rights in Britain.

The Windrush immigration scandal concerns people who were wrongly detained, denied legal rights, threatened with deportation and in many cases wrongly deported from the UK by the authorities.


"The Windrush generation refers to citizens of former British colonies who arrived before 1973, when the rights of such Commonwealth citizens to live and work in Britain were substantially curtailed," according to Rob McNeil, deputy director of the Migration Observatory.

"While a large proportion of them were of Jamaican or Caribbean descent, they also included Indians and other South Asians," McNeil said.

As many as 102 Indians were provided documentation to formalise their rights to live and work in the UK by an emergency Taskforce set up to deal with cases of Commonwealth nationals who arrived in the UK before immigration rules became more stringent in 1973, according to the latest figures released by home secretary Sajid Javid to the Home Affairs Select Committee (HASC) yesterday.

While the majority of the 2,272 migrants' cases dealt with by the Taskforce came from Caribbean countries Jamaica (1,093) and Barbados (213), India at 102 came in third followed by Grenada (88) and Trinidad and Tobago (86), with 690 cases classed as Others.

Of the 102, a total of 69 Indians were granted their documentation under the Windrush Scheme, which ensures that members of this generation, their children born in the UK and those who arrived in the UK as minors are able to apply for citizenship free of charge.

"The experiences faced by some members of the Windrush generation are completely unacceptable and I am committed to righting the wrongs of the past," said Javid, who was born to Pakistani-origin parents in the UK.

He also committed to making a formal apology to 18 members of the Windrush generation from the Caribbean, who it is believed could have been wrongfully removed or detained.

He said: "I would like to personally apologise to those identified in our review and am committed to providing them with the support and compensation they deserve.

"We must do everything we can to ensure that nothing like this happens again – which is why I have asked an independent adviser to look at what lessons we can learn from Windrush".

The home office said that its evidence suggests the 18 people came to the UK from the Caribbean before 1973 and stayed here permanently but were unable to demonstrate their continuous residence here and were either detained or removed.

The group referred to as the Windrush generation, relates to a ship named Windrush, which brought Jamaican workers to UK shores in 1948.

The scandal emerged as many who arrived as children around that period were struggling to access state services or even threatened with deportation because they did not possess any documents to prove they arrived in Britain before 1973.

In his letter dated August 21 to HASC Chair, Labour MP Yvette Cooper, Javid highlights that the Windrush cases expose problems which have happened over many years, under multiple governments and calls for a "cross party-approach" to ensure the wrongs which some members of the Windrush generation have faced are put right.

More For You

Police arrest five after anti-asylum protesters target Heathrow hotel

Anti-migrant protesters demonstrate outside the Cladhan Hotel on August 30, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Police arrest five after anti-asylum protesters target Heathrow hotel

BRITISH police said they arrested five people on Saturday (30) after masked men tried to force their way into a hotel used by asylum-seekers, a day after the government won a court ruling on the use of another hotel to house migrants.

Two groups of anti-asylum protesters marched to the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Heathrow Airport before some demonstrators tried to break in, London's Metropolitan Police force said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi backs peaceful Ukraine settlement in call with Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskiy (L) and Narendra Modi

Modi backs peaceful Ukraine settlement in call with Zelenskyy

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his support for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Modi's office said.

Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address on Saturday (30), said Modi supported Ukraine's call for a ceasefire in the war with Russia and hoped that notion would be heard at the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi says "peace and stability" achieved on China border in Xi meeting

India's prime minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese president Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, August 31, 2025. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS

Modi says "peace and stability" achieved on China border in Xi meeting

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi was committed to improving ties with Beijing in a key meeting with China's president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a regional security forum on Sunday (31).

Modi is in China for the first time in seven years to attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, along with Russian president Vladimir Putin and other leaders from Central, South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East in a show of Global South solidarity.

Keep ReadingShow less
wasim bashir

Bashir retired from the force while under investigation but will still face misconduct proceedings. (Photo credit: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Former West Yorkshire Police officer jailed for misconduct

A FORMER West Yorkshire Police officer has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after being convicted of misconduct in a public office.

Wasim Bashir, 55, who worked as a detective constable in Bradford District, was found guilty of one count of misconduct in a public office for forming a sexual relationship with a female victim of crime. He was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, 29 August.

Keep ReadingShow less
Epping protests

Protesters calling for the closure of The Bell Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers, gather outside the council offices in Epping on August 8, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Over a dozen councils plan legal action despite Home Office court win

Highlights:

  • Court of Appeal has overturned injunction blocking use of Epping hotel for asylum seekers.
  • Judges say human rights obligations outweigh local safety concerns.
  • At least 13 councils preparing legal action despite ruling.
  • Protests outside the Bell Hotel lead to arrests and police injuries.

MORE than a dozen councils are moving ahead with legal challenges against the use of hotels for asylum seekers despite the Home Office winning an appeal in the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less