A man who has lived in the UK for 36 years remains stranded in Poland, seven years after the government was forced to apologise over its Windrush Scandal.
George Lee, who came to the UK as a child from Jamaica in 1961, remains trapped in Poland for more than two decades – after being told he does not qualify to return home to the UK.
On 16 April 2018, the Windrush Scandal erupted, exposing the devastating impact of harsh immigration policies on long-term UK residents – many of whom arrived as children from Commonwealth countries. The revelations, triggered by a powerful intervention from Labour MP David Lammy, cast a long shadow over the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and forced the then Home Secretary, Amber Rudd – ironically, the MP for Hastings and Rye (where Mr. Lee last lived in the UK) – into an uncomfortable spotlight. Yet, for George Lee, who came to the UK from Jamaica at the age of seven, as part of the Windrush Generation, the nightmare continues.
Mr. Lee’s story is a stark illustration of the bureaucratic quagmire that has trapped many. He grew up in London before moving to Hastings in his later years; and had built a life in the UK of nearly four decades. He worked at International House in Hastings, but when work slowed in the late 1990s, he accepted a two-year contract to teach English as a foreign language in Poland. This seemingly straightforward decision would shatter his life in Britain. Upon the completion of his contract and having been out of the UK for just over two years, Mr. Lee was denied re-entry as a returning resident – a fate shared by many others caught in the unforgiving horrors of the Windrush Scandal.
16 April 2018 David Lammy tells George Lee's MP and (Home Secretary) Amber Rudd, "It is 'inhumane and curel' for so many of that Windrush Generation to have suffered so long in this condition."
The irony is bitter. When the Windrush Scandal broke in 2018, the very MP who represented Mr. Lee in Hastings and Rye (Amber Rudd) was at the heart of the political storm. Lammy’s impassioned attack across the House, backed by over 140 MPs, highlighted the long-standing injustice faced by individuals like Mr. Lee. But, even with the subsequent promises of redress and the establishment of the Windrush Schemes, Mr. Lee remains stranded in Poland for more than 25 years.
While he has now been accepted under the Windrush scheme and underwent biometric enrolment in Poland last week for a returning resident visa—a new and formidable obstacle has emerged. UK authorities are insisting that Mr. Lee should obtain a Jamaican passport to travel home to the UK. Mr. Lee states that his passport was confiscated by Polish authorities who are refusing to return it.
He believes that the Borders and Nationality Act 2022 offers a solution. Under the Act, Parliament granted the Home Secretary the power to bestow British Citizenship in exceptional circumstances. Mr. Lee argues that his case – having lived in the UK for four decades and being wrongly denied re-entry – undoubtedly qualifies. Yet, he feels the Home Office has been persistently pushing him towards getting a passport from Jamaica, a country he hasn’t called home for 64 years. His current situation in Poland is dire. He describes living in “inhumane conditions” and faces eviction after his landlord disconnected his electricity.
George Lee in happier times
Help is coming from the Windrush National Organisation (WNO) he says, and other advocates, who are working to facilitate his return to the UK. Mr. Lee vividly recalls his formative years in London, stating: “I attended Princess May Primary School in Princess May Road, London, N16; he also attended Dame Alice Owen Grammar School for Boys, now renamed Dame Alice Owen's School, Dugdale Hill Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 2DU. Mr. Lee had qualified in Business and Computer studies at (Polytechnic of North London) Computer Programming at the Control Data Institute. He says the first computer he ever sold at his job was to the late Lord Avebury (an avid campaigner for citizenship rights for the Windrush). He says he is also a former member of the National Union of Journalism (NUJ) and is qualified as an English language tutor.” These memories, affectionately resonate with Mr. Lee and show his long-standing and deep connections to the UK.
His current reality is a stark contrast to the life he built in the UK. “I am living in absolute squalor with no electricity and must figure out clever ways to charge my phone to keep contact with the outside world.” He says he was treated horribly by the British Embassy in Poland and was barred from returning to the Embassy.
Mr. Lee claims he was told by staff at the British Embassy-Warsaw that his own MP, who was also Home Secretary at the time of the scandal, had instructed that they do not let him back into the Embassy because he was not a British citizen. “It’s the worst feeling—being betrayed by the country I’ve called home for so many decades,” he recounted. Mr. Lee says he had reached out to David Lammy after that powerful speech. “I was told that strict Parliamentary rules prevents MPs from representing other constituents.” Lammy’s office had instead put him in touch with the then Home Secretary, as Hastings and Rye was George Lee’s last place of abode in the UK.
The indignity of his situation is compounded by the deterioration of his living conditions. “I am no longer able to teach English at my flat, which is how I was able to survive, because of the disrepair.”
A Home Office spokesperson said:
“The Home Secretary is determined to put right the appalling injustices caused by the Windrush scandal, making sure those affected receive the compensation they rightly deserve, and ensuring cultural change is embedded permanently into the fabric of the Home Office.
“We continue to support eligible individuals to access and apply for our Status Scheme so they can get the documentation needed to prove their right to be in the United Kingdom.”
“It is longstanding government policy that we do not comment on individual cases.”
The Jamaican authourities have also been contacted about Mr. Lee's case, and we welcome their comment on this matter.
However, seven years after the Windrush Scandal first made global headlines, the promises of justice and restitution ring hollow for George Lee as he remains trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare, separated from his home in the UK and living in destitution.