The government was urged to quickly pay compensation to all Windrush victims at a rally to mark the sixth anniversary of the scandal.

Several speakers addressed the public event in Windrush Square, Brixton, south London, including immigration lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie, Bishop Desmond Jaddo, activist Glenn Caesar, activist Patrick Vernon, Black Cultural Archives President Lisa Anderson and church leaders.

Candles were also lit as part of a vigil to remember Windrush pioneers and those who have died since the scandal broke, while spoken poetry and prayers were also performed.

Jacqueline McKenzie, who has worked with more than 400 Windrush victims, said progress was being made with claims through the successful Windrush compensation scheme, despite the Home Office still having much work to do and a lengthy application process Still complex, the system is rife with delays and many applicants die without resolution.

“We’re seeing some good results, but there are still some issues like significant delays and fatalities because this is an older age group,” she told CNN. independent.

Leigh Day, partner and head of immigration and asylum law at law firm Leigh Day, also said lawyers were battling a storm of misinformation about eligibility, while the Home Office was failing to effectively engage with all affected communities about their rights.

“I also think the problem in this area is that a lot of people don’t really understand the compensation scheme, so there are a lot of videos circulating on platforms like Tiktok that falsely inform people that they can apply and those who are not eligible.” Applications submitted by winners clog the system.

“Then the Home Office initially believed, based on census data and statistical modeling, that 50,000 people of Caribbean origin may have been affected by the Windrush scandal. Well, only 7000-8000 people had received their papers, so why didn’t the Home Office do more How much publicity is there?”

The compensation scheme, which has been in place since April 2019, aims to redress a scandal that emerged a year ago in which many British citizens, mainly from the Caribbean, were denied access to healthcare and benefits and threatened with deportation despite having The right to reside in the UK.

Despite growing concerns about the number of people dying before receiving benefits, the Home Office has so far resisted calls for such reforms, warning that changes to how the system is administered could disrupt claims processing and cause delays in payments.

Community activist Ros Griffiths, co-organizer of Friends of Windrush Square, said: independent: “We cannot give up on our efforts to bring justice to the Windrush generation and dismantle the oppressive systems that paved the way for us.”

The rally was planned by a number of community groups including Windrush National, Friends of Windrush Square.

Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Leroy Logan also attended the meeting and said independent: “We need to be here to pay tribute to those who have passed away and ensure that the Windrush scandal does not happen again to future generations.”

Mr Logan also praised the role played by churches at today’s vigil, adding: “I’m delighted to see churches stepping up; not only can they play a role in political lobbying but they can also provide people with Need moral support.

“I’m really happy that at this vigil we’re seeing an increased presence of clergy. I’ve been to vigils before and they were very small. So, better late than never.”

Bishop Desmond Jaddoo, founder of the Windrush National Organization (WNO), chaired the afternoon session.

After the event, he said independent: “Today is an opportunity to make our voices heard, it is the beginning of a journey of change. We have to use today not only to level the playing field so that our children no longer face these issues, but to ensure We develop tomorrow’s leaders.”

Campaigner Patrick Vernon said: “The government always uses the rhetoric of ‘righting wrongs’ in scandals but they are not actually listening to the concerns of survivors, campaigners and lawyers.

“This is demonstrated by the fact that they have broken their promise to implement the recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review.

“Hopefully when the election is called and politicians canvass for votes, potential candidates will be asked if they are willing to commit to granting automatic citizenship to victims of the scandal, amending the scheme and removing it from the Home Office – these are some of our key demands.

Anthony Brown, who set up advocacy group Windrush Defenders after successfully resisting a wrongful deportation attempt by the Home Office, traveled from Manchester to attend the event in Brixton.

“I’m here because this is an important national issue,” he told The Independent. “It’s not just Londoners who are affected by the scandal; it’s Londoners.” It’s people across the country.

“Our voices are out there. To quote Frederick Douglass: “Power makes nothing without demands”. So we must mobilize, we must demand what we want, not the government said things they could offer”.

The incident comes after the government’s compensation scheme for victims of the Windrush scandal was branded a failure by campaigners who urged ministers to overhaul the compensation process five years after the scheme was launched.

Critics of the scheme have repeatedly called for the Home Office to be stripped of its responsibility for identifying and processing victim payments, saying it should be handed over to an independent agency.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.