Inside Journalism
Journalists in the News: Windrush reporter says Post Office delays all too familiar
The government must not make the same mistakes in the Post Office scandal as it did with Windrush, says Amelia Gentleman.
The Guardian reporter, who won the Paul Foot award for her Windrush investigations, told the BBC’s Today programme that postmasters and postmistresses are being failed in the same way as the Windrush victims.
“People affected by the Post Office scandal would do well to listen to the experiences of those affected by Windrush. It [applying for compensation] has been bafflingly slow and we know of 40 people who have died between the period of submitting an application and before receiving compensation.”
Thousands of innocent people were caught up in the The Windrush scandal. They were prevented from accessing employment, healthcare and housing because the Home Office had destroyed their documentation, making it impossible for them to prove they were legally allowed to live in the UK. Good BBC briefing here.
Gentleman says the lessons from these scandals are not being learnt: Do you really think ministers will get justice for Post Office victims? Ask the Windrush families and think again