Plea for help to pay for Windrush victim's funeral

Anthony Williams arrived in the West Midlands from Jamaica when he was aged seven

A fundraiser has been set up to help pay funeral costs and settle the financial affairs of a man who died after accepting payment from the Windrush compensation scheme (WCS).

Anthony Williams, of Birmingham, had been incorrectly told he was living in the UK illegally. along with thousands of other people mainly from the Caribbean.

For more than five years he was refused access to work, NHS services and welfare and, after developing a mouth infection, Mr Williams had to remove his own teeth.

He said he rejected his first compensation offer of £18,500, but a GoFundMe page states he ultimately accepted a settlement from the WCS in late 2021.

The fundraising page says Mr Williams moved back to Jamaica before dying in hospital near St Thomas, on 29 March, after it is thought he had contracted liver cancer.

His nephew was preparing to fly to Jamaica to organise the funeral and deal with final arrangements, which "entails immediate expenses... likely to include the cost of advice and assistance in navigating administrative and legal matters", the page states.

"We are asking for your help with these costs, which are significant and exceed the capacity of those who survive him," it adds.

A total of £1,480 has so far been raised out of a target of £8,000.

'Righting the wrongs'

HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, on 22 June 1948.

Its 1,027 passengers, and others who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971, became known as the Windrush generation and went on to help with post-war labour shortages and rebuilding the UK's battered economy.

Mr Williams, a former Royal Artillery serviceman, arrived in the West Midlands from Jamaica aged seven.

The GoFundMe page said that together with a "group of other victims and volunteers", he had helped lead a charge "to remove the WCS from Home Office control".

Compensation has been offered but there has been concern over the complexity of the scheme.

The Home Office has reiterated its commitment to "righting the wrongs of the Windrush scandal and making sure those affected receive the compensation they rightly deserve".