The Windrush generations were proudly British. Yet immigrants are still fighting to be seen that way

The statues outside Hackney town hall in London were created to celebrate the contribution the Windrush generation has made to the UK. Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

This week I went to a Windrush Day reception in the gardens of 10 Downing Street. Standing in the brilliant sunshine, with a steelband tinkling away in the background, it was great to see this generation of Caribbean migrants finally being honoured as their bravery and enterprise deserves.

The excited guests – Windrush-era Caribbean migrants, their friends and family – were thrilled to be at No 10, and the absolute highlight was being addressed by the prime minister, Keir Starmer. Fortunately on this occasion, he refrained from telling his guests that they were turning Britain into an “island of strangers”. In any case, it would have been nonsense.