In 1953, the year she was crowned, Queen Elizabeth II recorded her Christmas message in New Zealand. She did so as the head of a Commonwealth that she said bore “no resemblance to the empires of the past”. In truth there were many resemblances – including colossal and unjust imbalances in wealth and power that continue to this day. Immigration policy is one area in which Britain’s imperial past left an indelible mark. A report commissioned by the government in the wake of the Windrush scandal, from a historian employed by the Home Office, provides an accessible account of the mechanics of this.
So it is a bitter if not unsurprising irony that in a week when the nation’s attention is turned to the 1950s, in celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee, it has emerged that ministers have been denying the public access to these insights. The report, which was completed last year and is titled The Historical Roots of the Windrush Scandal, was leaked to the Guardian after a freedom of information request to see it was turned down on the grounds that disclosing it could prejudice “the ability of the department to develop policy in a safe space”.
