By Mkuu Amani, Prodigal Sun Radio — Birmingham

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“I wrote to 150 Members of Parliament, and every single newspaper you could possibly think of. For 25 years, nobody listened,” George Lee told the packed Windrush National Organisation’s International Conference in Birmingham earlier this year. After decades forced to live abroad, he returned to the UK determined to confront the neglect and misrepresentation that has plagued the Windrush generation and their descendants.

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“Somebody finally gave me a contact — Dr Bishop Desmond Jaddoo MBE — and now look where I am. Standing in front of you,” he said, drawing sustained applause.

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Lee did not hold back in his critique of the media, recounting an interview that he'd been invited to take part in. “We spoke at length about the fact that I had owned a hairdressing salon in London. On at least three occasions, I said to her: ‘It was a hairdressing salon.’ When she wrote the article, what do you think she called it? A barbershop. That is no accident. That is deliberate. It shows how they manipulate us. It is time this manipulation ended.”

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He challenged the perception that journalists or outsiders can speak for the Windrush community. Referring to one particular journalist he frowned upon what he described as her reputation for being the voice of Windrush. "What gives her that right, when she has never actually done anything to help us?” Lee asked. “I read every single one of her articles. She has made millions off our backs — and I am being told she ‘saved’ us from the Windrush scandal. How does that come about?”

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Lee also reflected on the personal and systemic toll of the Windrush era. He recounted a photograph from 1964, sent to him by a former schoolmate, showing him as one of the only Black children in his school.

 

“I came to this country as an eight-year-old in 1961. In 1962, they changed the law, and said that we could no longer come as citizens. We were no longer internal migrants — we were now immigrants. That change created decades of misery.”

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The toll on his family was stark. “My mother worked herself to death. She died six months before she could draw a pension. They kept me out of the country." he said, "And when they finally allowed me to return, I was missing eight years of pension — and I never got a penny. I said to them, ‘Can you pay me back all my pension?’ They told me no — they’d give me one year. Then add bits onto the pension weekly."

 

Despite being allowed to return to the UK following the Windrush National Organisation's intervention in his case,  Lee's current status remains unresolved - "Citizenship?" he remarked, "We are still waiting.”

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Throughout his speech, Lee emphasized the urgent need for structural change and independence.

 

“I don’t understand why we cannot look after ourselves. This organisation needs no less than £10 million to be set up properly. Since I’ve been back, I am ashamed of where we are. That’s not our responsibility. That’s the responsibility of those who denied us our rights and made it impossible for us to make any progress in this country.”

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He also condemned the Windrush Compensation Scheme, which he called the “compostation scheme.” “It is total idiocy. It has compounded injustice rather than alleviated it,” he said, prompting nods and murmurs of agreement from the audience.

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Yet Lee’s address was not just about critique — it was a call to action. “We cannot continue to depend on those who are not really interested in helping us. We must build our own organisations. We must help each other. And yes, that is something we are not very good at — but we can change it,” he said.

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“I don’t have to work to kill myself anymore. Now I can work ceaselessly for our people,” he added. His return, he said, is about more than personal justice: it is about creating change that ensures future generations are not left powerless.

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“The main reason I have come back — and why I’m happy to stay — is that I am going to work ceaselessly for our people. Believe me, I’m not finished. I’m just beginning.”