Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #BreakTheHE
Most recents (13)
Remember Sitting in Limbo? It's about Anthony Bryan and his wife, Janet McKay-Williams, đđ˝ played by @peerobinson and @_NadineMarshall. It won an entire Bafta.
Guess how Anthony and Janet have been getting on with the Windrush Compensation Scheme?
1/26
Guess how Anthony and Janet have been getting on with the Windrush Compensation Scheme?
1/26
@peerobinson @_NadineMarshall Anthony arrived as an 8 yr-old in 1965. In 2015, he was fired, and lost access to benefits and the NHS along with his income. He was then detained and threatened with deportation, then released, then detained and threatened with deportation. He became a shadow of himself.
2/26
2/26
@peerobinson @_NadineMarshall Janet held down the fort and supported him, putting her own life on hold. She chased MPs; compiled evidence; fought with staff at HO reporting centres; and with family and friends, scraped together the fees to win an injunction preventing Anthony's imminent deportation.
3/26
3/26
This eve, @Channel4News will feature an item on @RichardSBlack1. He came to Britain as a small child and lived here for many years before he was refused re-entry following a visit to Trinidad. That decision - which was wrong, as Richard was a citizen - has shaped his life. [1/7]
Richard was left destitute in Trinidad, and his family was carved up, with his then-wife and children able to remain in the UK. @ukhomeoffice materially altered the course of Richardâs life. But thatâs not the worst of it. [2/7]
After publicity and a number of direct approaches, former Windrush Compensation Scheme head Tom Greig and others at @ukhomeoffice promised Richard he would be repatriated, at govtâs cost, THIS SUMMER.
As previously mentioned, Greig has been pulled off Windrush matters. [3/7]
As previously mentioned, Greig has been pulled off Windrush matters. [3/7]
đ¨ alert, 𧾠alert: one of our members received a letter containing this little kicker today, in response to their application to the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Join me on a journey of rage. [1/14]
Join me on a journey of rage. [1/14]
This appears at the end of a letter requesting more information, which is something caseworkers can do according to the Casework Guidance, currently on version 7. The rules on requesting more evidence begin on p 89. [2/14] assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uplâŚ
The claimant in question hasn't received any other demands or requests for evidence. They haven't even been told of an assigned caseworker. This is the first time they've seen a request for further evidence.
Note the procedure set out below. [3/14]
Note the procedure set out below. [3/14]
đ¨THREADđ¨: Everything you say is a lie, misdirection, wrong, stupid or pointless
@pritipatel and @MatthewRycroft1 appeared before @CommonsHomeAffs on Weds; also on Weds, @ukhomeoffice unveiled its latest "overhaul" of the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
1/20
@pritipatel and @MatthewRycroft1 appeared before @CommonsHomeAffs on Weds; also on Weds, @ukhomeoffice unveiled its latest "overhaul" of the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
1/20
@pritipatel @MatthewRycroft1 @CommonsHomeAffs @ukhomeoffice The events of this week make it more important than ever that Windrush victims - *esp* those that have not yet applied for compensation - complete the survey we and @GoodLawProject have developed. windrushlives.goodlawproject.org
2/20
2/20
@pritipatel @MatthewRycroft1 @CommonsHomeAffs @ukhomeoffice @GoodLawProject Because as you'll see down-thread, @ukhomeoffice, @pritipatel and @MatthewRycroft1 have proven (again, in a more cartoonishly calamitous fashion than usual) that they can't be held to account, won't tell the truth, and can't handle their basic job requirements.
3/20
3/20
It's Windrush Day. @ukhomeoffice will shortly tweet how sorry it is for shafting the Windrush generation and how assiduously it is "righting the wrongs".
More importantly, @UKLabour is now calling for the Comp Scheme to be removed from the HO.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/j⌠1/10
More importantly, @UKLabour is now calling for the Comp Scheme to be removed from the HO.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/j⌠1/10
@ukhomeoffice @UKLabour The HO claims to have spent ÂŁ500k on celebrations. While education and commemoration are important, it is stomach-turning that the HO - which caused the scandal that created the Day - ever thought it cld buy a little good publicity out of it.
gov.uk/government/newâŚ
2/10
gov.uk/government/newâŚ
2/10
@ukhomeoffice @UKLabour Any attempt to acknowledge past mistakes and put the Windrush scandal right must begin with, well, actually doing those things.
While historical/archival exhibitions, performances and storytelling are important - and are being well handled by *members of the community*...
3/10
While historical/archival exhibitions, performances and storytelling are important - and are being well handled by *members of the community*...
3/10
đ¨ Thread𧾠đ¨
On Monday, @PHSOmbudsman published their report into UK Visas and Immigrationâs (UKVI) and Immigration Enforcementâs handling of the case of Rupert Everett, providing more damning evidence of the impact of the hostile environment (HE) on Black Britons. [1/18]
On Monday, @PHSOmbudsman published their report into UK Visas and Immigrationâs (UKVI) and Immigration Enforcementâs handling of the case of Rupert Everett, providing more damning evidence of the impact of the hostile environment (HE) on Black Britons. [1/18]
You can read a summary of the complaint here: ombudsman.org.uk/publications/iâŚ
And the full report here: ombudsman.org.uk/sites/default/⌠[2/18]
And the full report here: ombudsman.org.uk/sites/default/⌠[2/18]
In short, Mr Everett had the right to be in the UK yet was told he had no status here, then threatened with deportation by Immigration Enforcement (acting through a private contractor, Capita) [3/18]
đ¨ alert,𧾠alert: National Audit Office report
The NAO has been quietly auditing the Windrush Compensation Scheme in Q1, and has reported the results of its review this am. The headline (general incompetence, undue delays) aren't surprising. NAO/1
nao.org.uk/report/investiâŚ
The NAO has been quietly auditing the Windrush Compensation Scheme in Q1, and has reported the results of its review this am. The headline (general incompetence, undue delays) aren't surprising. NAO/1
nao.org.uk/report/investiâŚ
We're more interested in some of the fine print, and the untruths and misrepresentations (by @ukhomeoffice, to be clear, not the NAO) the report reveals.
I'm writing this live, so follow this thread for updates as I go... NAO/2
I'm writing this live, so follow this thread for updates as I go... NAO/2
The NAO finds the HO "developed different sets of objectives and it is not clear which it uses to measure progress". This (highlights mine) is from an internal HO document. Pay close attention to the language here:
NAO/3
NAO/3
This definitely feels like a planned immigration exercise - @metpoliceuk say the exercise was pursuant to âcomplaintsâ, which is nice and vague ie hard to check; of the other 5 cases mentioned, 2 are insurance offences and 3 are again unspecified. [1/2]
vice.com/en/article/m7eâŚ
vice.com/en/article/m7eâŚ
We are descending rapidly into ghettoisation as official policy. @ukhomeoffice and @metpoliceuk are utter poison.
PS: @Deliveroo nice work tripping over yrself to pledge allegiance to the hostile environment rather than defending your harassed workers. Youâre an enabler. [2/2]
PS: @Deliveroo nice work tripping over yrself to pledge allegiance to the hostile environment rather than defending your harassed workers. Youâre an enabler. [2/2]
On reflection, although the HE is the work of @ukhomeoffice, we can and should do more to call out and mark corporate enablers, so Iâll start: @Deliveroo, your riders are people, not numbers to be shuffled around in support of despotic and damaging migration targets... [3/2]
đ¨@WindrushLives Closing Threadđ¨
Weâll be off in a minute, so a few final thoughts:
First, we hope youâll agree that the Windrush Compensation Scheme doesnât work, was never really intended to, and is an insult to victims, for whom #WindrushInjustice continues.
Weâll be off in a minute, so a few final thoughts:
First, we hope youâll agree that the Windrush Compensation Scheme doesnât work, was never really intended to, and is an insult to victims, for whom #WindrushInjustice continues.
Where do we go from here?
It is vital to centre the lives and experiences of Windrush survivors and to continue to keep tabs on and understand how the compensation scheme is really working (or not) for the people that matter â the claimants.
It is vital to centre the lives and experiences of Windrush survivors and to continue to keep tabs on and understand how the compensation scheme is really working (or not) for the people that matter â the claimants.
To that end, we are delighted to announce a collab to rival Ivy Park (ok, not really): @WindrushLives x @GoodLawProject will in short order be publishing a questionnaire designed to gather the data that the Home Office canât, or wonât.
đ¨@WindrushLives Threadđ¨
Letâs interrogate what reparation for the #WindrushInjustice ought to look like.
Strategically, we are committed to improving the existing Scheme ASAP and taking it away from the HO so that claimants can get the compensation they are owed. [1/20]
Letâs interrogate what reparation for the #WindrushInjustice ought to look like.
Strategically, we are committed to improving the existing Scheme ASAP and taking it away from the HO so that claimants can get the compensation they are owed. [1/20]
But that word - âowedâ - is an important one here. The injustice done to the Windrush generation and their families is about more than material losses from loss of employment, for example, although that is of course a big part of the harm done. [2/20]
It is also about the stripping of citizenship and the rights that come with it, and deprivation of dignity, identity and a sense of belonging. [3/20]
đ¨THREADđ¨
Youâve now seen the scale and depth of very much ongoing #WindrushInjustice. Youâve heard directly from victims.
Even more than an advocacy and support group, @WindrushLives is a network of victims, and this is what we want: [1/7]
Youâve now seen the scale and depth of very much ongoing #WindrushInjustice. Youâve heard directly from victims.
Even more than an advocacy and support group, @WindrushLives is a network of victims, and this is what we want: [1/7]
This demand - that the Scheme be taken out of the @ukhomeoffice - is based on the Home Office's own stats. As experts inc @JacquiMckenzie6 have noted, the HO is barely keeping its head above water with a little over 2.5k claims - between 17-20% of its own expected total. [2/7]
Itâs also based on the fact of the hostile environment. Virulent racism and a rabid desire to throw people out of the country under any manageable pretext are just *fundamentally incompatible* with restorative justice and reparations. We canât believe this needs saying. WL [3/7]
đ¨ @WindrushLives Thread: The #WindrushInjustice and the Windrush Compensation Scheme đ¨
Between 1948 and 1973 people from all over the Commonwealth were encouraged to come to the UK, their labour needed to rekindle the post-war economy. [1/25]
Between 1948 and 1973 people from all over the Commonwealth were encouraged to come to the UK, their labour needed to rekindle the post-war economy. [1/25]
They became known as the âWindrush generationâ after the ship (the Empire Windrush) that brought the first group of 492 people to the UK. They, and those that followed, were British subjects who were entitled to live and work in the UK. [2/25]
However, successive immigration legislation from 1962 onwards (in a context of virulent racism - epitomised by Enoch Powellâs âRivers of Bloodâ speech in 1968) restricted the rights of people from certain countries to settle in the UK. [3/25]
đ¨ Thread: @WindrushLives takeover đ¨
Weâre @WindrushLives. Weâre taking over Jo's account today to tell you why the Windrush Scandal - we prefer Windrush Injustice - is not over. #WindrushInjustice [1/9]
Weâre @WindrushLives. Weâre taking over Jo's account today to tell you why the Windrush Scandal - we prefer Windrush Injustice - is not over. #WindrushInjustice [1/9]
Weâre going to show you that all the government hand-wringing and apologies for the Windrush Injustice ring very hollow when you scrutinise whatâs happened since Sajid Javid promised to âdo right by the Windrush generationâ ukpol.co.uk/sajid-javid-20⌠[2/9]
The main focus of our ire is the Windrush Compensation Scheme (WCS or Scheme hereafter) which was established by the Javid-led Home Office in 2019 to compensate the 1000s of people who were caught up in the Windrush Injustice. The Scheme, in short, has been shambolic. [3/9]
