Blogs, Responsible business

Unfinished business: the fight for #Justice4Windrush

By Clo Davey, Director, Farrer Kane & Co

As the news agenda darts from one crisis to the next, it’s easy to forget that the protagonists of each story have to live with the fallout, even when the media gaze is no longer upon them.

So, with many people mistakenly assuming that the Windrush scandal was done and dusted – literally old news – the #Justice4Windrush campaign was launched this week to highlight the ongoing plight of the 15,000 people of the Windrush generation wrongly classified as illegal immigrants, the vast majority of whom are still waiting for compensation.

For those not aware of the context, these individuals were invited to the UK as British citizens to help rebuild the country after World War II. Yet having lived and worked in this country for decades, and in some cases even fought for it, they continue to be denied legal rights, with some even being detained or deported. At least 40 Windrush victims have died waiting for compensation.

Justice4Windrush was devised by actor and campaigner Colin McFarlane, who secured the participation of a host of famous faces from across the entertainment industries, as well as the involvement of Windrush campaigners and victims. The roster of supporters includes internationally renowned singer, songwriter and campaigner, Annie Lennox, who re-recorded ‘Why’ exclusively for the campaign, as well as AJ Tracey, Eddie Marsan, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Jazmine Flowers, Jay Blades, Hannah Waddingham and Adrian Lester.

The media launch involved a wide-ranging, collaborative pro bono effort from several fantastic creative agencies. With invaluable insights from legal experts Martin Forde KC and Pauline Campbell, we had the pleasure of joining forces with Cloud9Media, Coldr, DediKATed PR, Hart Media, See Saw PR, To Market and Wild 1 Media to deliver splashes across national, broadcast, regional, music, consumer and social media. 

While we are immensely proud to have played a part in such an important campaign, we’re also very aware that a week’s splurge of media coverage is very much only the beginning. We need to maintain public attention on this ongoing injustice and not simply let it slide from view.

So, watch this space as Windrush still isn’t over.

If you’d like to show your support for Justice4Windrush, please do 3 simple things:

1. Watch and share the short film

2. Sign the open letter

3. Follow the campaign’s social media channels below:

Instagram: @j4windrush

X/Twitter: @j4windrush

LinkedIn: @Justice4Windrush

Image credit: Justice4Windrush