Windrush scandal: How Britain deliberately, wrongfully deported Black people to limit their population

A long-withheld official report released Thursday (September 26) has revealed that decades of discriminatory immigration laws, designed to reduce Britain’s non-white population, led to the wrongful detention and deportation of Caribbean migrants, known as the Windrush scandal.

The newly published report, titled The Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal, outlines how immigration and citizenship laws between 1950 and 1981 were systematically aimed at limiting the number of Black people allowed to live and work in Britain.

“Every single piece” of legislation during this period was crafted, at least in part, to diminish the Black population, the report found.

The report highlights key immigration laws in 1962, 1968, and 1971 that were specifically designed to restrict non-white immigration, framing the scandal as an issue of “deep-rooted racism” in British immigration policy. It also details how Black and minority ethnic lives were “profoundly shaped” by the legacy of the British Empire.

The Windrush scandal came to light in 2018, when it was revealed that thousands of Caribbean migrants, many of whom had legally arrived in Britain between 1948 and 1971 to fill labour shortages, were wrongly detained, denied rights, and deported under stricter immigration policies.

The scandal severely damaged the political standing of former Prime Minister Theresa May, who had overseen immigration policy as Home Secretary during the period of enforcement.

The previous Conservative government in 2022 refused to release the report, rejecting Freedom of Information requests. The document was finally made public by the newly elected Labour government.

The report does not make any recommendations but illustrates the broader historical context, showing how Britain’s immigration policies grew out of the country’s colonial past.

It also highlights how racial and immigration politics became intertwined over the decades. The report references the 1833 abolition of slavery, noting that the belief in Black inferiority persisted long after, influencing modern British policy.

Britain apologised in 2018 for its treatment of the Windrush generation and established a compensation scheme for those affected.

With input from Reuters