He is one of seven children to Jamaican parents. Born in Farnworth, near Bolton, Myrie said his family’s front room held strong memories of Jamaica and the Caribbean, where his parents and older siblings were born.
Asked about the impact of the Windrush Scandal on his own family, Myrie shared an emotional account.
The scandal emerged in 2018, when hundreds of Commonwealth citizens part of the Windrush generation had been wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights.
British citizens, mainly from the Caribbean, were denied access to healthcare and benefits and threatened with deportation despite having the right to live in the UK.
His brother Lionel “now has the right to remain here”, he said. But in an emotional exchange, Myrie said his other brother, Peter, died from prostate cancer before the situation was sorted.
“There are still people who haven’t received their compensation. It’s just very, very sad.”