Windrush: Minister apologises for data blunder in compensation scheme

IMMIGRATION minister Caroline Nokes has apologised "unreservedly" to the Windrush generation after about 500 private email addresses were shared with recepients of a mailing list for the compensation scheme.

The Home Office had sent information to Windrush migrants in a way that meant their email addresses could be seen by other people.

In a written ministerial statement, Nokes said: “Regrettably, in promoting the scheme via email to interested parties, an administrative error was made, which has meant data protection requirements have not been met, for which the Home Office apologises unreservedly.

“This occurred in emails sent to some of the individuals and organisations who had registered an interest in being kept informed about the launch of the compensation scheme, which included other recipients’ email addresses. Five batches of emails, each with 100 recipients, were affected. No other personal data was included.

“A recall was commenced as soon as the problem had been identified. The departmental data protection officer has been informed and an internal review will be conducted to ensure this cannot happen again. The department has voluntarily notified the Information Commissioner’s Office of the incident. I am firmly committed to doing right by the Windrush generation.”

Last week, home secretary Sajid Javid announced a £200m compensation scheme for up to 15,000 immigrants as he apologised for "terrible mistake" of Windrush scandal.

"The whole country was shocked by the unacceptable treatment experienced by some members of the Windrush generation. People who have built their lives in this country, people who have done so much for this country, people who have every right to be in this country, they were told that they were not welcome," said Javid.