Source: The Guardian
Winston Knight, 64, is finally being permitted to return to the United Kingdom after more than ten years of living on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica. The UK Home Office has formally cancelled the man’s deportation order and acknowledged their mistake, claiming that he is a member of the Windrush generation because he arrived in the UK as a youngster in 1966 and has been there for more than 47 years.
Knight reportedly received a minor conviction during the 2011 riots, which led to his unjust deportation to Jamaica in 2013. As a result, he hired a group of attorneys who maintained that his dismissal was illegal and contended that it was an “opportunistic mistake.” According to his lawyer, he was traumatised by violence and lived in fear for 12 years while homeless and without family ties on the island of Jamaica.
Knight stated that he is doing much better now, that he is aware that he has won his case, and that he will be going back to the UK shortly after the news broke that he had won.
“I’m coming from hell. I survived by eating from the market and was called a ‘deportee’ and ‘English’ in Jamaica. I am grateful I survived. Thank God, he added”.
Knight has endured unspeakable injury from being homeless in a highly unstable situation for a total of 12 years, according to his attorney, Nina Kamp of Duncan Lewis Solicitors. According to Kamp, this instance is one of the worst injustices related to the Windrush that they have witnessed.
“The Home Secretary has formally acknowledged that Winston Knight is a member of the Windrush generation and was unlawfully deported to Jamaica in 2013, following a judicial review challenge brought by our team, Kamp asserted”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper acknowledged the matter just hours before the final hearing, but she has failed to issue an official apology despite the Home Office’s admission of responsibility.
Winston Knight is now anticipated to make his way back to the UK in the upcoming weeks, right before June 22nd’s Windrush Day.
