When a solicitor told Donald Biggs he could be deported at any time he admits: “It scared the living daylights out of me”. The Mancunian - who spent decades working for Manchester Council - is one of many people irrevocably affected by the Windrush Scandal.
For three years he lived in uncertainty, fearing a knock at the door and believing he could be ‘snatched’ by the Home Office at any time.
And, when he fell ill with cancer, he made sure to pay for his healthcare despite paying taxes his whole working life, as he was so worried about his status. Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link Now naturalised, Donald says the mental scars of those years have not left him.
And he is yet to receive the compensation he and many others are owed by the UK government. “Even if I was given a million pounds it still wouldn’t make up for the years and what I’ve been through,” he said this week, on the 75th anniversary of HMT Windrush’s arrival in the UK.
Read more on manchestereveningnews.co.uk