IT is nearly 70 years since the Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury dock from Jamaica. The Windrush, a former German troop ship which had been confiscated after the war and hastily converted into a passenger liner, brought with it hundreds of migrants to help rebuild this country.

It’s worth reminding ourselves what post-war Britain was like back then. While America emerged fitter and stronger after 1945, the UK was on its knees. Towns and cities were broken by years of bombing, basic foods were in short supply and rationing persisted.

It certainly wasn’t a land of plenty for the migrants who stepped off the Windrush. They found a hollow shell of what had once been the epicentre of the world’s greatest empire.

The migrants who came to help are known as the Windrush generation but they came not only from the West Indies but from many other parts of the new Commonwealth, including Africa, India and Pakistan. Many, like Kenny Williams whose story is told in today’s paper, settled here in Bradford.

They were given the right to stay in this country in 1971 but now, due to an unbelievable Home Office mix-up, their records have been lost.

So good people like Mr Williams ended up out of work and on the streets through no fault of their own.

This is a scandal which brings shame on our country. The Government has promised a speedy resolution, but the damage has been done. The term Windrush generation will be a stain on the UK’s international reputation for many decades to come.