The Home Office has admitted to spending at least £22,000 on lawyers in a failed bid to suppress a damning internal report. The report, which traces the roots of the Windrush scandal to 30 years of racist immigration laws, was commissioned by the Home Office but its release was fiercely contested due to its politically sensitive nature.
The report, compiled by a historian hired by the Home Office, highlights how post-war immigration laws were crafted to reduce the UK’s non-white population. Despite initial resistance, the report was eventually leaked to The Guardian in May 2022, revealing that major immigration laws in the 1960s and 1970s were specifically designed to decrease the number of individuals with black or brown skin in the UK.
Transparency campaigner James Coombs challenged the Home Office under the Freedom of Information Act, arguing that the department withheld the report because it was politically embarrassing. His appeal led to the tribunal forcing the Home Office to release the document, citing concerns over the lack of transparency reminiscent of George Orwell’s writings.
The UK’s treatment of Windrush generation individuals, many of whom were wrongly identified as immigration offenders, spurred widespread criticism and led to calls for better understanding of Britain’s colonial history among Home Office staff. Despite the legal costs and the compensation paid to claimants, the Home Office maintains that the expenses were incurred under the previous government and that publishing the report is part of a promised “fundamental reset” in policy approach.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/04/home-office-spent-22000-on-failed-attempt-to-stop-windrush-report-release
