A victim of the Windrush scandal has finally returned to the UK after spending 41 years stranded in Trinidad when his citizenship was revoked.
Richard Black, 70, who had his British passport mistakenly revoked by the Home Office in 1983, joined Susanna Reid and Richard Madley on Good Morning Britain after finally returning to London.
Richard, who was born in Saint Lucia but came to England as part of the Windrush generation, where he lived in Notting Hill, west London, from the age of six, has spent years contesting his case before the government approved him for a visa. returning resident.
At age 30, while traveling to visit his in-laws in Trinidad and Tobago, his British passport expired and he was trapped in the country, while his wife, two of his daughters and his mother were back in Britain.
Richard said: ‘My mother passed away in 2003, I begged her if she could come back. She was a beautiful person. Not being there when she was sick and eventually when she passed away, it was a horrible situation for me.”
Richard Black, 70, from Notting Hill, west London, finally returned to the UK after being stranded in Trinidad for 41 years when his citizenship was revoked.
He couldn’t even attend his mother’s funeral in 2003, his marriage broke down and he lost contact with his daughters, who were only six and two when he left.
He said: “I thought this would be sorted in a couple of weeks, not 41 years.” Honestly, at one point I gave up.
‘What pushed me to move forward was my youngest daughter. “She was the catalyst for my return, to solve many problems.”
Richard said the reason the government refused to renew his passport was because Saint Lucia gained its independence in 1979 and as a result he was deemed “no longer British”.
Richards’ lawyer Jacqui Mackenzie, who was also on the programme, said it was “quite common” for this to happen to people from the Windrush generation.
She said: ‘A lot of the consular offices around the world didn’t really understand that people had a right of abode, they were settled, some of them were registered citizens, so we see it quite regularly. We believe there are thousands of people in the same situation as Richard who don’t know they can now take advantage of a plan to return.’
Richard added: ‘I have a right to be UK. I wanted to make sure that right was fulfilled, so why not prosecute him?
At age 30, while traveling to visit his in-laws in Trinidad and Tobago, his British passport expired and he was trapped in the country, while his wife, two of his daughters and his mother were back in Britain (in the photo). his daughters who were only six and two years old when he left)
Richard, who had his British passport mistakenly withdrawn by the Home Office in 1983 in a decision that left him out of the country for decades, joined Susanna Reid and Richard Madley on Good Morning Britain after finally returning to London.
Richard, who was born in Saint Lucia but came to England as part of the Windrush generation, where he lived in Notting Hill, west London, from the age of six, has spent years contesting his case before the government approved him for a visa. returning resident.
When asked how it feels to be back in London, he said: “It’s fantastic, I got lost a couple of times, the place has changed a lot, but I’m enjoying it.” he.’
The Home Office offered him £40,000 in compensation, but Richard says it is not enough.
The scheme was created five years ago to reward members of the Windrush Generation (legal migrant workers from the Caribbean who arrived after the Second World War) who had been incorrectly classified as illegal immigrants.
The Home Office reiterated its commitment to “righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal and ensuring those affected receive the compensation they deserve”.