Bishop Paul McAleenan, Chair of the Office for Migration Policy, has welcomed the UK government’s apology for challenging the residency status of undocumented members of the so-called Windrush generation – people who came to the UK from the West Indies in the 1950s and 60s.
Some 50,000 people were at risk of deportation – including children who, at the time, had travelled on a parent’s passport.
Bishop Paul McAleenan said:
“We welcome the government’s apology for the unacceptable rejection and denial of access to services for some members of the Windrush generation, whose vital contribution to the reshaping of the UK after the Second World War is well documented and acknowledged.
“Such an oversight is both extraordinary and unacceptable; a fact now recognised by the government. To deny them access to the benefits of the State they have served so well would have been truly reprehensible.
“The Windrush generation and all communities that have made meaningful contribution to this country deserve to be treated fairly and with respect.”
