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‘I feel screwed by England’- J’can challenging UK over Windrush Scandal compensation

-Raymond Lee was denied re-entry to UK by Home Office in 1999 after 30 years as resident then denied compensation
Raymond Lee, 67, first travelled to the UK as a child in 1971 where he lived for nearly 30 years but he was wrongly denied re-entry at Heathrow airport when he returned from a visit to Jamaica in July 1999. Photo: Internet Source
Lee, who has since returned to Jamaica over fear of being detained again, is set to challenge the Home Office’s decision to refuse him compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme, according to the Independent over the denied re-entryy case. Photo: Internet Source
Lee, who has since returned to Jamaica over fear of being detained again, is set to challenge the Home Office’s decision to refuse him compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme, according to the Independent over the denied re-entryy case. Photo: Internet Source
CLARENDON, Jamaica - A Jamaican man who is a member of the Windrush generation and was wrongly denied re-entry to the United Kingdom (UK) and sent back to Jamaica has been granted a judicial review of his case.

Raymond Lee, 67, first travelled to the UK as a child in 1971 where he lived for nearly 30 years but he was wrongly denied re-entry at Heathrow airport when he returned from a visit to Jamaica in July 1999.

Lee, who has since returned to Jamaica over fear of being detained again, is set to challenge the Home Office’s decision to refuse him compensation under the Windrush Compensation Scheme, according to The Independent.

Speaking from his home in Clarendon, Jamaica, Mr Lee says: “I feel disgusted by how I’ve been treated by the British government.

“Looking at my experience and others’, as highlighted in the Windrush scandal, it’s clear that things have gone right back to the Enoch Powell days… “My generation and people like my parents left the Caribbean and came to England to bring the country out of the gutter after World War II; as soon as that was done, they were turned against, used, abused and discarded by the British government as people who were not needed. It’s not nice; I feel screwed by England and rejected.”

Tore away from wife & 5 children 

Lee’s 1999 denied re-entry tore him away from his then-wife and five children in the UK, after he forced to stay in Jamaica and although he later returned to the UK months later, the retired builder is seeking compensation for the impact that this had on his life.

Having eventually returned to the UK in 2000, Mr Lee was subsequently granted indefinite leave to remain (ILR). In 2009, he returned to Jamaica when his father became ill and died and since then, he has not returned to the UK, initially because he was afraid that he would be detained. 

“The fact that I came to England as a child didn’t make a difference to immigration; they didn’t care about the fact that I went to school here, got married here, worked here and had all of my children,” Mr Lee told the Independent.

“Whilst I am pleased the High Court will review the compensation decision, it is a pity that I have had to go to these lengths just to get the fair treatment I deserve.”

In 2021, he applied to the Windrush Compensation Scheme seeking compensation for his detention and removal from the UK, loss of access to employment and the impact on his life caused by the failure to admit him to the UK in 1999, however, the Home Office rejected his claim on the assessment that his ILR had previously lapsed because he had been out of the country for two years before 1999.

Legal arguments set 

However, Mr Lee’s lawyers argue that he did not need indefinite leave to remain as a citizen of a Commonwealth country and that he had the right of readmission to the UK as a returning resident, while adding that there was no evidence his status was even checked. 

Solicitor Stephanie Hill of Leigh Day says: “Like so many members of the Windrush Generation, my client has experienced ill-treatment from the Home Office for many years.

Firstly, he was denied entry to the UK and sent to Jamaica, despite having first arrived in the UK as a child in the 1970s, “To compound this unfairness, he has since been denied compensation for the impact this had on his life. Our client will argue that the Home Office has failed to apply its own immigration law correctly and has taken an unreasonable approach to the evidence in this case,” the lawyer said. 

33 Responses to “‘I feel screwed by England’- J’can challenging UK over Windrush Scandal compensation”

  • one love (07/02/2024, 12:38) Like (4) Dislike (10) Reply
    You hear thing mehson
    • wha (07/02/2024, 18:33) Like (10) Dislike (5) Reply
      Why he complains? If he ain’t got the papers to stay in England he ain’t legal. Try that shit gettin in
      Yard an see where that get he!
  • no different (07/02/2024, 12:44) Like (40) Dislike (0) Reply
    that is a.shocking truth about UK
    however...dont be too quick to judge. the rules are the same here...it doesnt matter if you arrives here as a child.....schooled here.....know no other place but here as home...you still have not rights...you still must apply for work permit exempt..you still must apply for residency...etc etc etc. compensation here ? ...never happen
  • Mote (07/02/2024, 12:48) Like (18) Dislike (12) Reply
    Thanks for bringing this to light. The BVI immigration laws have "screwed" a lot of people by deporting them even though they have lived here for over twenty years and never committed a crime. So before we go off on the UK you need to know. I guess it is a "British thing"
  • Some truth (07/02/2024, 13:14) Like (33) Dislike (10) Reply
    He was denied re-entry because he did not have any UK status. In 30 years of living in the UK he never even bothered get a driving licence. His "suffering" was a few months in Jamaica away from his family before he was back in the UK safe and sound with family and official status! What's the problem exactly, it seems as though in the end he got what he wanted? Oh I get it, he decided to stay in Jamaica and make a case for compensation....
    • racist (07/02/2024, 15:00) Like (8) Dislike (3) Reply
      How many British citizens never apply for a Driver's License and never own a car. Owning a car in England is a very expensive undertaking.
      • @racist (07/02/2024, 18:36) Like (2) Dislike (2) Reply
        You don’t need a car to get a driving license. You making excuses for he.
    • Streups (08/02/2024, 14:07) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      What an idiot!!
  • Lord (07/02/2024, 13:19) Like (7) Dislike (20) Reply
    The scourge of racism, prejudice and hate for. the Brown human is criminal. The respect and humanity for the Black man is none existent. A really sad state of mind for those affected by such.
    • The TRUTH (07/02/2024, 17:27) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      deniers and othersare getting their daily rock. Hep. hep!
    • @Lord (08/02/2024, 12:41) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
      This has absolutely nothing do with race. Me no see how you bring race into this when we do the same thing to people in our Labour and Immigration system.
  • jack@$$ (07/02/2024, 13:24) Like (1) Dislike (10) Reply
    These ppl here will find a way to blame you b/c their beloved crown and kingdom can do no wrong and has never done wrong.
  • E. Leonard (07/02/2024, 13:27) Like (9) Dislike (3) Reply
    Western Europe , including the UK, was devastated during WWII. After WWII, the US created the Marshall Plan ( European Recovery Program) to provide foreign aid to help Western Europe recover. The UK received 25% of $13.3B ( $173B in 2023) aid package. In addition to the devastation, there was a labor/skill shortage in the UK, and to address the shortage, the UK leaned on its colonies and former colonies..With the Marshall Plan and labour supplied by the colonies, eg, Windrush Generation, etc., the UK recovered economically, socially, etc., But now it seems as if the UK is turning its back on the people who help it in its time of need.

    Moreover, a country/region, etc, needs consumers/ population for the economy to grow m, sustain, etc. Lee Kuan Yew, the father of and long-serving Prime Minister of Singapore who led Singapore from a small impoverished nation at independence in 1965 to today a bustling economic powerhouse, noted in the book Lee Kuan Yew: “ “Throughout history all empires that succeeded have embraced and included in their midst people of other races, languages, religion, and cultures.”
    • Brexit (08/02/2024, 08:59) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
      Seems the general British majority did not read Lee Kuan Yew's book.
  • ? (07/02/2024, 13:57) Like (14) Dislike (17) Reply
    What about all the people living in the BVI for years who have no status and are ignored by immigration, even though they have served the time to just get residency. Those same Virgin Islanders who so racially guard against any BVI status being given, have full British passports. DISGRACEFUL. PUBLISH THAT!
  • Native Senior Citizen of the British Virgin Islands (07/02/2024, 14:10) Like (10) Dislike (5) Reply
    Sir, we here in the BVI have many problems. Our human population of approximately 35 to 37 thousands cannot be compared to Jamaica's human population of approximately 3 or more million people. Don't you think it was better to air you complain to the people of your country than ours? Please do that instead.
  • Truth (07/02/2024, 14:32) Like (20) Dislike (2) Reply
    he was out of the UK for more than 2 years before he tried to "return" to his wife and kids... thats why he didnt get back in , he wasnt on a 2 week jolly holiday , he had left the UK for more than 2 years! now he bitching looking for money
  • ccc (07/02/2024, 14:41) Like (3) Dislike (9) Reply
    Free the drew
  • fromafar (07/02/2024, 14:46) Like (0) Dislike (5) Reply
    what British passport? You all keep craving for that not me it does not worth the treatment and humiliation.
  • bbc (07/02/2024, 17:40) Like (5) Dislike (1) Reply
    where he comes from also denies people entry
  • BVI is worse (07/02/2024, 17:42) Like (11) Dislike (2) Reply
    Happens everyday in BVI. The Gestapo like Immigration department throwing people off the island for not understanding their complex ever changing rules.
    I hear of a lady been here 24 years, married to a belonger, with 3 BVIslander children with a Work Permit Exemption kicked out and fined $500 because she did not know the latest rules for changing jobs.
    And who was changing jobs due to sexual harassment.
    And no , a work permit exemption does not allow you to change jobs when you like
    The Gestapo have to give permission.
    Its Indentures Servitude , as close to slavery as it gets.
  • Norris Turnbull (07/02/2024, 18:30) Like (5) Dislike (5) Reply
    At BVI is worst....you are a dam ingrate. Leavea tomorrow. Stop telling lies.
  • Outsider (07/02/2024, 20:02) Like (5) Dislike (1) Reply
    After 28 years in the UK Mr Lee, a Jamaican migrant, was denied the right to re-enter the UK. 2 years later, he was granted full indefinite leave to remain. That's equivalent to 'belonger' status.

    And this is HEADLINE NEWS in the Virgin Islands! How many migrants in this tiny territory (not a country of 70 million like the UK) have been denied status 28 years after arrival? PLENTY!

    Does this mean we migrants in the Virgin Islands whose legal rights have been ignored are going to be compensated by the Virgin Islands? Or by the UK, the responsible administering power?

    Do migrants here get to call the situation "racist"?

    Does it mean we migrants in that boat get to call ourselves the "LIAT generation" (instead of "Windrush generation")?
    • smh (08/02/2024, 08:49) Like (1) Dislike (1) Reply
      @outsider what makes you feel that every expatriate is entitled to Belonger status or citizenship because they lived and worked here for over 20yrs plus? Marriage, children, work permit exemption doesn't give one the entitlement of deeming to belong or citizenship. Each individual case is different if the process is being followed. So call it what you want, children born to virgin Islander parents, who were raised, school, and works in virgin islands still have to file for Belongership. So why must grown expatriates with no ancestry or bloodline be entitled.
      • Outsider (08/02/2024, 21:27) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
        "every expatriate is entitled to Belonger status or citizenship...". Not something I said so I can hardly respond as if I did.

        "if the process is being followed". Indeed; that's an important point. A process is supposed to be followed. The process concerned is a process prescribed BY LAW. The LAW has been ignored and the rights of migrants established by LAW trampled upon. If in doubt about that, perhaps read the COI report?
    • @outsider (08/02/2024, 10:00) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
      indefinte leave to REMAIN, remain being the most important word, he did not remain in the UK he left and went back home for over 2 years...
  • Josiahsbay (07/02/2024, 20:04) Like (2) Dislike (2) Reply
    Empire enslaved us, raped, pillaged, and plundered. They colonized us yet we worked and fought on their behalf; they are our Head of State. We should be their citizens by default instead they still treat us like chattel to be used and abused to their liken. If see no value in our relationship with them.
  • c (07/02/2024, 20:31) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    Matter of opinion.
  • Anonymous (07/02/2024, 23:29) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    And that is the country lecturing the bvi about transparency I am ashamed of the uk
  • answer (08/02/2024, 02:54) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
    You need to apply to get status of a Permanent Resident, assuming that you are one, after living in UK for 30 years, is not enough.
  • facts (08/02/2024, 08:37) Like (1) Dislike (0) Reply
    This same thing happens right here in the BVI the only thing different is that the fact is your own black people doing it to you


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