Friday, June 28, 2019
Home Office report criticises its own hostile environment policy
The Guardian reports on a draft review of the Windrush scandal, was commissioned by the Home Office itself, which finds that the department failed to counter racial discrimination when it implemented its anti-immigration hostile environment programme.
The paper says that the damning document accuses officials of recklessness and a reticence to acknowledge and learn from their mistakes:
The report highlights the scale of the problems uncovered by the independent reviewer, Wendy Williams, an inspector of constabulary. She was commissioned to undertake the “Windrush lessons learned” review by the home secretary, Sajid Javid, last summer in the wake of reporting on the scandal by the Guardian.
“Whilst everyone I spoke to was rightly appalled by what happened, this was often juxtaposed with a self-justification, either in the form of it was unforeseen, unforeseeable and therefore unavoidable ... or a failure on the part of individuals to prove their status,” Williams wrote.
Theresa May put together the hostile environment policy, under which she sought to make life intolerable for people who had come from abroad to live in the UK in a bid to cut inward immigration numbers, during her time as home secretary. Williams’ review focuses on the impact of immigration laws from that period. A host of members of the Windrush generation were wrongly deported by the British authorities, with some having died without receiving redress or an apology.
Draft extracts of Williams’ review suggest the implementation of May’s policies was flawed because “it failed to adequately consider the past ... It failed to adequately consider the impact on people ... It also failed to adequately mitigate equalities issues including the potential for discrimination, particularly in housing.”
The document reportedly adds: “This appears particularly reckless considering the significant warnings that the department was given about their potential consequences.”
The paper adds that Williams also describes a “defensive culture that results in an unwillingness to learn from past mistakes” within the Home Office. She reportedly recommends that the department’s staff be educated in the UK’s colonial past and proposes that government ministers should admit that they were wrong and provide an unqualified apology.
This is a damning indictment of Theresa May and her policy in particular. Surely it must lead to a change in policy. The question is though, is it too late? Has the damage already been done?
The paper says that the damning document accuses officials of recklessness and a reticence to acknowledge and learn from their mistakes:
The report highlights the scale of the problems uncovered by the independent reviewer, Wendy Williams, an inspector of constabulary. She was commissioned to undertake the “Windrush lessons learned” review by the home secretary, Sajid Javid, last summer in the wake of reporting on the scandal by the Guardian.
“Whilst everyone I spoke to was rightly appalled by what happened, this was often juxtaposed with a self-justification, either in the form of it was unforeseen, unforeseeable and therefore unavoidable ... or a failure on the part of individuals to prove their status,” Williams wrote.
Theresa May put together the hostile environment policy, under which she sought to make life intolerable for people who had come from abroad to live in the UK in a bid to cut inward immigration numbers, during her time as home secretary. Williams’ review focuses on the impact of immigration laws from that period. A host of members of the Windrush generation were wrongly deported by the British authorities, with some having died without receiving redress or an apology.
Draft extracts of Williams’ review suggest the implementation of May’s policies was flawed because “it failed to adequately consider the past ... It failed to adequately consider the impact on people ... It also failed to adequately mitigate equalities issues including the potential for discrimination, particularly in housing.”
The document reportedly adds: “This appears particularly reckless considering the significant warnings that the department was given about their potential consequences.”
The paper adds that Williams also describes a “defensive culture that results in an unwillingness to learn from past mistakes” within the Home Office. She reportedly recommends that the department’s staff be educated in the UK’s colonial past and proposes that government ministers should admit that they were wrong and provide an unqualified apology.
This is a damning indictment of Theresa May and her policy in particular. Surely it must lead to a change in policy. The question is though, is it too late? Has the damage already been done?
