George Lee was stuck in Poland and received little help from UK officials even after the scandal broke in 2018
W
hen George Lee was last in the UK, Tony Blair was the newly elected prime minister, Diana, Princess of Wales had recently died and Elton John’s Candle in the Wind was being played on repeat. A pint of bitter cost £1.63 and a packet of 20 cigarettes sold for about £2.94.
After 28 years of exile in Poland, Lee, an English teacher, flew back to Britain a fortnight ago, his ticket paid for by the Home Office, where staff had belatedly acknowledged that he was a victim of the Windrush scandal and allowed him to return.
He first contacted MPs and Home Office workers to request assistance in summer 2018 as the Windrush scandal unfolded. He says consular officials in Poland and Home Office staff in the UK failed to help him return, despite the government’s repeated proclamations that everything was being done to assist those affected.
