THE HOME Office has failed ot implement the culture change needed following the Windrush Scandal, a new report has said. 

Wendy Williams, who carried out a critical review two years ago after the Windrush revelations came to light, revisited Priti Patel's department to see what progress had been made.

The windrush scandal of 2018 saw thousands of people wrongly classed as illegal immigrants in the UK, and threatened with deportation. 

In today's report Ms Williams said that while the Home Office had been ambitious in some areas she was “disappointed by the lack of tangible progress or drive to achieve the cultural changes required”.

Acknowledging that some positive steps had been made, she said the department was at a “tipping point”, and unless improvements were made, abother crisis would occur. 

Only eight of the 30 recommendations from her previous report had been fully implemented, Ms Williams said, adding that the department had yet to implement the spirit of her recommendations, and criticised officials for exaggerating the progress they have made.

She said: "Much more progress is required in policymaking and casework, which will be seen as the major indicators of improvement.

"In some areas, the department has shown ambition and a commitment to taking forward my recommendations. But in others I have been disappointed by the lack of tangible progress or drive to achieve the cultural changes required within a reasonable period to make them sustainable.

“The department is at a tipping point and the next stage will be crucial in determining whether it has the capacity and capability to make good on its ambitions ‘to build a Home Office fit for the future, one that serves every corner of society…[with] a long-term focus on wholesale and lasting cultural change’.”

The scandal erupted in 2018 when British citizens, mostly from the Caribbean, were wrongly detained, deported or threatened with deportation, despite having the right to live in Britain.

Many lost homes and jobs, and were denied access to healthcare and benefits.

Since then, the Home Office has provided thousands of documents to more than 11,500 people confirming their immigration status or citizenship.

The department is “undertaking an ambitious and significant transformation programme”, and the next stage is “crucial to the department’s cultural transition”, the latest report said.

Ms Williams added: “I believe the department is potentially poised to make the significant changes it needs to.

“But it must grasp the opportunity to implement the more fundamental recommendations that relate to producing: a more highly trained, developed and professional workforce; a department that is more comfortable engaging with the public and stakeholders on all issues of public policy – not just the uncontentious; an organisation that is more confident under the gaze of external scrutiny.

“If the department fails to do this, it risks looking back on this seminal transformation programme as a missed opportunity.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “I am pleased with what we’ve achieved in the last two years and that Wendy Williams has recognised this is a different department from the one she originally saw.

“I have laid the foundations for radical change in the department and a total transformation of culture. We have already made significant progress and Wendy highlights many achievements, including the work we have put into becoming a more compassionate and open organisation.

“Having said that, there is more to do and I will not falter in my commitment to everyone who was affected by the Windrush scandal. Many people suffered terrible injustices at the hands of successive governments and I will continue working hard to deliver a Home Office worthy of every community we serve.”

Last week, another report found the Windrush compensation scheme – which offers payouts to victims affected by the scandal – has “structural weaknesses” and needs reform so it can be “efficient and effective”.

Martin Levermore, the Government’s independent adviser on Windrush, acknowledged there had been criticism of the scheme from a “variety of quarters” but said overall that it is “delivering”.

The latest figures show the Home Office had paid out more than £37 million on 993 claims by the end of February, out of a total 3,618 claims submitted so far.

Some 285 claims have been made for people who have already died and only 14 have currently resulted in payments so far.

Appeals have been made against decisions in almost 500 cases, while 636 eligible applicants were told they were not entitled to any money because their claims did not demonstrate they had been adversely affected by the scandal.

There have been 193 claims rejected on eligibility grounds