Through our work supporting victims with compensation claims and our research, we continue to see how difficult the Windrush Compensation Scheme is to navigate and how crucial access to legal representation remains. Victims of the Post Office, Infected Blood, and Home Office- Windrush scandals have all suffered profound injustices at the hands of the state. This report highlights that Windrush victims continue to face an additional injustice through what has become a two-tier system of redress, with the Windrush Compensation Scheme marked by significant structural failings. The evidence for change continues to grow, and we hope the government will act on the findings of our report to deliver a fairer and more accessible scheme.
Shaila Pal, Director, King's Legal Clinic
18 August 2026
New report highlights legal support inequality facing Windrush survivors seeking compensation
A new report co-authored by Shaila Pal, Director of King’s Legal Clinic, and JUSTICE has found that survivors of the Home Office Windrush scandal should be given free legal support, as victims of the Post Office and Infected Blood scandals have.
The report builds on comparative research from King’s Legal Clinic, published in 2024, which highlighted the continued failure of the Windrush Compensation Scheme (WCS) to deliver fair and accessible compensation to survivors of the Windrush scandal.
The latest report finds that the WCS is at least as complex as the other schemes, despite the Home Office argument that the scheme was designed to be simpler and more accessible without legal support.
Support for claimants across the compensation schemes differs significantly. The WCS is the only scheme that has no provision for funded legal advice, despite the fact it operates a lengthy and complex process. Claimants are asked to establish causation, loss and mitigation as part of their WCS claims.
Funded legal representation in the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme and Post Office schemes have helped address evidential gaps, challenge incorrect assumptions and improve the quality of decision-making. The report highlights that victims of the Windrush scandal must instead seek out their own legal support, either by finding available pro-bono support or out of their own pockets.
With up to two-thirds of WCS claims refused, legal representation plays a critical role in securing compensation for Windrush survivors. A report published last year by JUSTICE, Dr Jo Wilding and Dechert LLP found that claimants who applied without representation received an average award of £11,400, compared with £83,200 for those who had legal support.
Our research shows that all the compensation schemes are difficult to navigate, and legal representation is crucial when it comes to securing a fair settlement. There is no justification for treating Windrush claimants differently to Post Office or Infected Blood victims. Windrush survivors have already endured years of mistreatment at the hands of the state. If the Prime Minister is serious about righting this historic injustice, he must level the playing field and give them the legal support they need and deserve
Zoe Bantleman, Legal Director, JUSTICE
The new report finds that the lack of an expert, binding expert appeals body for the WSC places a disproportionate burden on claimants to identify legal and factual errors themselves. This is not the case for the other two schemes, where funded legal advice supports procedural fairness and protects against potential failures in decision-making.
To address these inequalities, the report also calls for the creation of an independent expert appeals body, with the power to make binding compensation awards for the scheme.
Read the report
- Read the full report and press release on the JUSTICE website.
- Find out more about the Windrush Justice Clinic.
In this story
Director King's Legal Clinic and Supervising Solicitor