Britain has made progress on race but more must be done, Windrush report finds

The UK is a better place to live as a minority than other major western democracies, but many black and Asian people still face discrimination in their everyday lives, a major report has found.

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to Britain this month, the British Future think tank found two-thirds (67%) of ethnic minority respondents said black and Asian people face everyday discrimination in Britain.

When asked whether Britain is a better or worse place for people from an ethnic minority background to live compared to other major western democracies like the USA, Germany and France, 80% said it is better, with one-fifth (20%) saying it is worse.

The organisation found 80% of those surveyed feel much more needs to be done to combat racism.

One example is perhaps better Windrush education in schools - with 74% polling that this should be a mandatory requirement in the classroom.

Especially when so much of the past penetrates the present - impacting the parents and grandparents of young people.

The Windrush Scandal erupted in 2018, when it emerged thousands of British citizens, mostly from the Caribbean, were wrongly detained, deported, or threatened with deportation, despite having the right to live in the UK.

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

Windrush scandal may taint poignant anniversary

According to Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, the Windrush scandal may have tainted this poignant anniversary for Britain's Caribbean population.

Mr Katwala told Sky News: "I think the Windrush scandal shocked the whole country.

"It makes the 75th anniversary very much a bittersweet moment.

"It's not just in the 1950s that people came to this country knowing they were British, facing discrimination when that wasn't recognised.

"That was happening again in the new century, to people who'd spent their whole lives here.

"So while this anniversary is about recognising the resilience, and the contribution, not just the discrimination, I think it's about pride, as well as prejudice. We've got to recognise the shame, the hurt and the harm that was caused by the scandal too."

Anniversary serves as stark reminder of brutal past

For Sally Sullivan from Gravesend, the anniversary is a stark reminder of a brutal past.

The 94-year-old travelled to the UK from Trinidad and Tobago in 1954 - and worked in the NHS for over 38 years.

Despite her contributions however, she said she wasn't made to feel welcome - despite being, in what she and many others called, their "mother country".

Mrs Sullivan told Sky News: "People were just so horrible. The names you were called.

"The patients, you go to wash them or anything like that… They would shout I don't want any black hand nurse touching me… And they would ask you do you have a tail?

"Things like that. It was tough. And you know that hurt is still there."

'Nowadays, it's about underlying tension'

Joelle Jean-Mare is an 18-year-old history student in London whose great-grandparents were part of the Windrush generation.

Ms Jean-Mare says the black British experience is not homogenous, is constantly in flux and in the modern day is tainted, she feels, by a new face of racism.

She told Sky News: "I think so for my great grandmother and grandparents coming (from the Caribbean), the racism and discrimination experienced then was a lot more overt and in your face.

"Nowadays, it's about underlying tension, microaggressions, and small slights that you maybe can't put your finger on.

"People have asked a lot of questions like, do you wish you were lighter skin?

"Or do you wish you were white?

"Asking things like do we wash our hair? Can I touch your hair?

"It feels very invasive and kind of like almost being fetishised or as exoticised."