A Leeds man has turned down a £100,000 Windrush compensation offer from the Home Office, claiming that itcomes nowhere near to taking into account the difficulties he has suffered due to mistakes made around his citizenship.
He has been offered £100,000 pounds as compensation for "maximum for the impact on life', but denied any compensation for financial loss - despite the fact that Home Office errors led to him being denied a mortgage to buy his council house in 2005.
Lorenzo Hoyte, 64, permanently relocated from Barbados to Leeds in 1957 as part of the Windrush Generation - but was not granted a UK passport by the Home Office until September 2018.
He has now said that he feels that the error has left him "living as a third-class citizen [in Leeds] for 40 years."
Due to an inability to prove his citizenship, Mr. Hoyte has been prevented from attending two family funerals abroad, one of which was his mother's.
"When I tried to travel to see my mum for her funeral I was told if you leave the country you cannot get back in," Lorenzo said.
Lorenzo Hoyte moved from Barbados to Leeds when was just ten years old
"I would like to ask any politician in this country - would you accept £100,000 for living as a third-class citizen for 40 years?
"Would you accept £100,000 not to go to your family's funeral - your mother's your brother's your grandparents'?"
Not having a passport has also meant that Mr. Hoyte has repeatedly been told he is not classed as a British citizen and denied some basic rights.
He's struggled to travel abroad at all and missed out on an opportunity to see his Olympic star sister Joslyn Hoyte-Smith compete for Britain in the women’s 4x400m relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
But his real gripe - and reason for turning down the £100,000 offer - is that In 2005, he was refused a mortgage to purchase the Wakefield District Housing-owned house he lives in under the right to buy scheme, simply because he didn't have a British passport.
According to Mr. Hoyte, his house is now worth up to £160,000 - but he claims he has already paid "more in rent than what they have offered me."
"They have offered me the maximum for the impact on life, bit nothing for financial loss.
"The main thing for me is my home. They took away my right to buy a house and have something for my family.
"I've been paying rent on this house since 2000. I tried to buy it in 2005 and the only reason I couldn't buy it was because I didn't have a passport to prove my citizenship."
Despite the error leading to him being refused a mortgage, his claim for 'financial loss' has still been refused by the Home Office.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “The Home Secretary has overhauled the Windrush Compensation Scheme, increasing the amount of compensation paid from £3m to almost £27m, with a further £7.1m offered to victims.
“If someone is unhappy with the award they have been offered they are able to ask for a review by a different decision maker and subsequently by the Adjudicator’s Office who are independent of the Home Office.”
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Number 10 North is officially ‘open for business’ and here’s why it’s so important for Yorkshire
Number 10 North has officially 'opened for business' this week, and Andy Burnham has now explained his key reasons for launching it.
You may remember that earlier last month, Andy Burnham revealed he had intentions to create a Number 10 North if he was to become Prime Minister, with the new base expected to be a 'dominant driver of the UK's economy' once it was officially up and running... and now, fast forward to today, Number 10 North is officially 'open for business'.
Operating from Heron House in Manchester city centre, as previously reported on by The Manc, Number 10 North will be the Government’s new 'situation room for growth'.
It also brings the 'levers' of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time ever.
With the Prime Minister expected to work from Number 10 North each week, so that decisions about the country’s economic future will no longer exclusively be made in Westminster, and with other ministers also working from there on a regular basis, the Government says the move underlines its determination to 'do things differently'.
Number 10 North has officially 'opened for business' / Credit: gov.uk (via Wikimedia Commons)
Now that Number 10 North has officially opened, Andy Burnham has explained why this move is so important for Yorkshire and the north as a whole.
"For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve," explained Andy Burnham.
"Number 10 North will change that by putting more power into every postcode across the entire country. It will be the situation room for making Britain better, the place we use to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level, so that they can turn things around.
"The days of Whitehall resisting devolution are over, for good."
Featured Image - The Manc Group
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Pints of Knowledge, Callum Campbell’s fastest-growing event, is coming to Leeds city centre this summer
Clementine Hall
The pub night that's packing out venues across the UK is coming to Leeds.
Let us introduce you to Pints of Knowledge, a phenomenon founded by Callum Campbell that has built a social media following of more than 160,000 people.
This is different to your average night out, it's a chance to meet new people and spark interesting conversation all in the relaxing surroundings of a pub.
The event has attracted thousands to its unique mix of expert talks, conversation and community in pubs across the UK.
Image: Supplied
And if you're looking to get in on the action then you're in luck, because Pints of Knowledge is arriving at The Wardrobe on Sunday 9 August.
So, what can you expect? From landmark legal history and the hidden pressures behind big systems to the evolving language of gaslighting and radical cinema, Sunday's Leeds programme will demonstrate exactly why Pints of Knowledge has struck such a chord with audiences across the UK.
Founder Callum Campbell, who has spent more than a decade producing live events across Britain, said bringing the concept to Leeds was the natural next step - and we're so happy he thought so.
Image: Supplied
He said: "I've always wanted to bring Pints of Knowledge to more cities across England, and Leeds has such a strong appetite for ideas and conversation. Watching this grow has been amazing, and I can't wait to bring it here.
"As more people look for experiences beyond a traditional night out, Pints of Knowledge offers something different: expert speakers, thought-provoking conversations and the chance to meet new people, all in the relaxed surroundings of a pub.
"People still love going to the pub, but they're looking for more from the experience. Pints of Knowledge is about hearing incredible stories, asking questions, meeting interesting people and leaving having learned something new."
Image: Supplied
The Pints of Knowledge programme at The Wardrobe will look like this:
12pm - Human rights lawyer Mahnoor Omer presents '10 Legal Cases that Changed History'.
2pm - Georgina Shute asks 'Why billion-pound systems are built by people who can't finish their to-do lists'.
4pm - Isobel Logan explores 'Gaslighting: The Evolution of a Concept Across Art, Relationships and Politics'.
6pm - Angelos Koutsourakis will examine 'Third Cinema, The Global South & Climate Change'.
Campbell added: "One hour you can be unpacking landmark legal cases, the next you're hearing about the psychology behind gaslighting, before finishing the day exploring cinema and climate change. That's what makes Pints of Knowledge different.
"This is just the beginning. We've seen an incredible response across the UK, and we're excited to build on that by bringing Pints of Knowledge to more cities across the country.”
Pints of Knowledge takes place at The Wardrobe in Leeds on Sunday 9 August, and you can get your tickets here.
Georgina Pellant -
3rd August 2021 
