Windrush 75: What is it and why do we celebrate it?

Today is the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the Windrush ship in Britain, when hundreds of Caribbeans disembarked the Empire Windrush ship in Tilbury Docks in Essex in 1948.

Windrush day celebrates the 800 people who came to this country all those years ago, but it also reminds us of the Windrush scandal that came to light in recent years.

Here's everything you need to know about Windrush:

Who are the Windrush generation?

The Windrush generation is the term given to describe the people who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1973 to fill UK labour shortages after the Second World War.

The name comes from those on that initial ship, which became a symbol of the new period of immigration.

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The 1971 Immigration Act gave Commonwealth citizens living in the UK indefinite leave to remain – the permanent right to live and work in the UK.

They are among more than 500,000 UK residents who were born in a Commonwealth country and arrived before 1971, according to University of Oxford estimates.

What is the Windrush scandal?

In 2018, it emerged that hundreds of Caribbean immigrants in the UK were being wrongly targeted by immigration enforcement, with many being detained or deported.

Due to the government's "hostile environment" policies, the Windrush Generation of Commonwealth citizens were denied healthcare and threatened with deportation.

It emerged that the UK Home Office had kept no records of those granted permission to stay, and had not issued the paperwork they needed to confirm their status.

A review of historical cases found that at least 83 people who had arrived before 1973 had been wrongly deported.

It had also destroyed landing cards belonging to Windrush migrants, in 2010.

As a result, the home secretary at the time, Amber Rudd, resigned from her role.

Meanwhile, the then prime minister Theresa May, apologised to the heads of 12 Caribbean countries and 140 MPs signed a letter to demand a resolution to the crisis.

Then an inquiry, which released its report in March 2020, said that the scandal was both "foreseeable and avoidable", and criticised "a culture of disbelief and carelessness" in the Home Office.

It made 30 recommendations which then home secretary Priti Patel accepted, but her successor Suella Braverman later dropped three of them.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme was established in April 2019. About 15,000 people were thought to be eligible.

But the scheme has been consistently criticised for processing delays, low offers, and unfair rejections reversed on appeal.

How will the 75th anniversary be celebrated?

A group known as the Windrush 75 network has committed to making it an entire year of marking the anniversary.

They said: “The 75th anniversary of the Windrush arriving in the UK is a Diamond Jubilee for modern, diverse Britain – when we mark an important moment in British history and come together to celebrate four generations of contribution, legacy, struggle, and positive change.”

In a book, King Charles hailed the pioneers of the Windrush generation, saying it is crucially important to recognise the “immeasurable” difference they made to Britain.

The King also attended a Windsor Castle service, a procession will be held in Brixton, and a commemorative Windrush flag will be flown around the UK.

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