Leeds Windrush child in passport plea to visit frail elderly father

A WINDRUSH child who came to Leeds aged 10 in the 1960s is urging the Home Office to grant him a passport so he can visit his brother and sister and ailing 89-year-old father before it is too late.

Lorenzo Hoyte was unable to attend his mother or another brother’s funerals abroad because he is not classed as a British citizen and still does not have a UK passport.

Mr Hoyte, who was born in Barbados and brought up in Beeston, Leeds, was also unable to travel to the Moscow Olympics in 1980 or the Los Angeles Games in 1984 to see his sister Josyln Hoyte-Smith compete for Great Britain in the women’s 4x400m relay.

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Mr Hoyte, 61, now of Wrenthorpe, Wakefield, said his father Belfield Hoyte, 89, has lived in Toronto in Canada since the late 1980s and he wants to travel to see him before he dies.

Lorenzo HoyteLorenzo Hoyte
Lorenzo Hoyte

He also has a brother Luther and sister Dolores – both aged in their seventies – living in Canada.

Mr Hoyte said he hasn’t seen his father for more than 30 years, adding: “He is a frail old man now . I have got a lot of farewells to say and a lot to do but I can’t have the passport to go and do it.

“It is just dragging on and on and no-one has go any answers for me.

“I want to see all my family in Canada before they die.

“And I want to go to Barbados and see my family there.”

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Mr Hoyte has worked as a welder all his life but has had to work on temporary contracts and has been unable to get a mortgage to buy a house.

He has written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid, telling him: “ My father’s health is ailing. I would like to see my dad before he passes.”

Mr Hoyte, who has five children and six grandchildren, said he is still no closer to getting a UK passport despite applying on numerous occasions over a number of years.

Mr Hoyte’s MP Andrea Jenkyns (Cons/Morley and Outwood), said: It is disappointing and unacceptable to hear that Lorenzo has yet to receive his passport, despite the reassurances of the Home Office.

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“I am working with other constituents from the Windrush generation to help them get a passport and I have scheduled a meeting with Lorenzo.

“I have messaged Home Secretary Sajid Javid and he said he is looking personally into Lorenzo’s case.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said Mr Hoyte’s status as a British citizen has been confirmed following his application under the Windrush Scheme.

The spokeswoman added: “We have today been in contact with Mr Hoyte’s family to provide guidance on how to submit an application for his British passport.”

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Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced in May that legislation had been introduced to bring into force a package of measures under the Government’s Windrush Scheme.

The legislation will enable the government to begin processing citizenship applications for the Windrush generation free of charge.