Windrush compensation scheme worse than hell - father

A north London man who became homeless when he could not prove his right to work described his experience with the Windrush compensation scheme as "worse than hell".

Fitzroy Maynard, 57, said he had been unable to get work for about a decade after losing his job as a residential caretaker in 2007.

The Hackney resident said anyone using the scheme needed help from a lawyer.

The Home Office said it continued to listen and respond to feedback.

Mr Maynard moved from Antigua to the UK in 1980 when he was a child, but found himself sofa-surfing later in life after being unable to prove to prospective employers that he had the right to work in the UK because he lacked the relevant documentation.

In April 2018, it emerged 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.

Those affected were unable to prove they were in the country legally and were prevented from accessing healthcare, work and housing.

"Just imagine you have no money, you have no food, you have nowhere to sleep, you're freezing, you're in the same clothes for weeks, you don't know what's going to happen," he said.

Mr Maynard said he had been offered some compensation by the Home Office but none to cover his loss of access to employment "because they can't see a reason why it was their fault".

He said: "I'm not claiming for losing my job, I'm claiming for loss of access to employment after I lost my job.

"They really think either people can't read or we are stupid. I'm fed up with the behaviour because they know exactly what they're doing.

"They keep on saying people do not need a lawyer to do this [but] people need a lawyer."

Mr Maynard now works as a part-time handyman while he is a full-time carer for his eight-year-old daughter.

He said he felt celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary on Thursday of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush in 1948 are only happening because of the "misery that has been caused to people".

Human rights charity Praxis, which has helped Mr Maynard and others, says the compensation scheme "only adds serious insult to serious injury" for victims of the scandal, and called on it to be made independent from the Home Office.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We continue to make improvements so people receive the maximum award as quickly as possible.

"This includes establishing a review process for those dissatisfied with their compensation offer.

"However, we know there is more to do, and will work tirelessly to make sure such an injustice is never repeated."

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