Ex-High Commissioner’s on higher service

The Anglican cleric who as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom led a campaign to end what became known as the ‘Windrush’ scandal has just ended his second month in his new role as a man of the cloth in Florida.

London-born, Barbados-raised minister, the Reverend Guy Hewitt, has been appointed parish priest for St James Episcopal Church in Hollywood in Southeast Florida. He never held a full-time parish assignment in Barbados.

As High Commissioner, Rev. Hewitt played a leading role in  bringing the UK government to the negotiating table over the Windrush scandal in long-term, Caribbean-born residents whose entry to Britain as children dates back as far as 1949 were wrongly denied benefits, detained and deported to the West Indies.

Rev. Hewitt’s work on the Windrush scandal included collaborating with civil society, politicians, and the media, and also involved direct discussions with then Prime Minister Theresa May and with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in his former role as Foreign Secretary.

Rev. Hewitt told the Hollywood Gazette community newspaper that considers his appointment to St James to be the ‘fulfillment’ of a “lifelong calling to serve God and His people.”

He told the paper his priorities for his new assignment were “youth ministry, community mobilization, and social justice outreach to the needy and marginalized”. (BT)