[noemon]

Institutional racism doesn’t exist,’ government’s race commission suggests in landmark report

Commission says ‘overt and outright racism persist’ but says UK should be example to other ‘white majority’ countries

The government’s highly anticipated race report commissioned in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests has rejected suggestions that Britain is still an institutionally racist country.

The 264-page report concludes that the UK has become a “more open society” where children from many ethnic communities perform as well or substantially better than white pupils in compulsory education.

The independent review – which is published on Wednesday – argues that issues around race and racism are “becoming less important” and, in some cases, are not a significant factor behind explaining disparities.

However, race advisers have warned that Britain is not “a post-racial society” and that “overt and outright racism persists in the UK”, particularly online.

Ahead of the report’s release, a government summary states: “The landmark report challenges the view that Britain has failed to make progress in tackling racial inequality, suggesting the well-meaning ‘idealism’ of many young people who claim the country is still institutionally racist is not borne out by the evidence.”

It comes after numerous reports published last year cited evidence of structural inequalities including the Public Health England (PHE) review of disparities in the risk and outcomes of Covid (2020), the Lawrence Review (2020), and Windrush Lessons Learned Review (2020).

The PHE probe found that: “Given the limitations of the PHE review, work was especially called for on the socio-economic, occupational, cultural and structural factors (racism, discrimination, stigma) influencing Covid-19 outcomes in Bame communities within and outside the health sector.”

While the Lawrence Review, commissioned by the Labour Party and led by Baroness Doreen Lawrence, concluded that “decades of structural discrimination led to the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on minority ethnic communities”.

In the Lessons Learned Review Wendy Williams, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, noted that “these failings demonstrate an institutional ignorance and thoughtlessness towards the issue of race and the history of the Windrush generation within the department, which are consistent with some elements of the definition of institutional racism”.

Following her Race Disparity Audit in 2017 which revealed the widespread impact of discrimination in the UK, former prime minister Theresa May said the data “will provide the definitive evidence of how far we must still go in order to truly build a country that works for everyone”.

Tony Sewell, chairman of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, who has previously made comments denying the existence of institutional racism, said: “The report highlights the significance of education as the single most powerful tool in reducing ethnic disparities.

“The effect of education is transformative on individuals but also their families and their communities, sometimes within a generation.

“Another revelation from our dive into the data was just how stuck some groups from the white majority are. As a result, we came to the view that recommendations should, wherever possible, be designed to remove obstacles for everyone, rather than specific groups.”

The former education charity boss and one-time colleague of Boris Johnson, added: “Creating a successful multi-ethnic society is hard, and racial disparities exist wherever such a society is being forged.” But, he added, the country should be an example to other “white majority countries”.

“The commission believes that if these recommendations are implemented, it will give a further burst of momentum to the story of our country’s progress to a successful multi-ethnic and multicultural community – a beacon to the rest of Europe and the world.”

In 2019 Black African pupils performed above their white British counterparts on average in GCSE exams, while Black Caribbean pupils were the only ethnic group who performed lower than white British pupils, new research commissioned by the group found.

The commission has suggested that some communities continue to be “haunted” by “historic cases” of racism, creating “deep mistrust” in the system which prevent them from being successful.

The report makes 24 recommendations including the commissioning of further research into the drivers in “high performing pupil’s communities” to see what can be replicated to support all children to succeed.

Last summer, Boris Johnson announced the cross-government inquiry into “all aspects” of racial inequality in Britain in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that swept across the globe, highlighting endemic racism and widespread injustices”.

“We have to acknowledge that when thousands of people march peacefully for Black Lives Matter, you can’t ignore that,” the prime minister said at the time. “I, as a leader, as someone in government, I can’t ignore the strength of feeling.”

But in a scathing attack at inaction from successive governments, David Lammy claimed the promise to hold a commission – first announced in a comment piece for The Daily Telegraph – was “written on the back of a fag packet to assuage the Black Lives Matter protesters”. Speaking in June, the shadow justice secretary demanded: “Get on with the action, legislate, move. You’re in government – do something.”

Referencing a previous report he led in 2017 into racial disparities in the criminal justice system, the Labour frontbencher said: “I made 35 specific limit recommendations in the Lammy review. Implement them.

“There are 110 recommendations in the Angiolini review into deaths into police custody. Implement them. There are 30 recommendations in the Home Office review into the Windrush scandal. Implement them. There are 26 in Baroness McGregor-Smith’s review into workplace discrimination. Implement them.”

[Godstud]

Most of the Brits I have met are very racist people. I know that's simply anecdotal evidence, but it's too common place for me to think otherwise. In my opinion, I doubt the report.

[Heisenberg]

In my opinion, I doubt the report.

Why on earth would you doubt the report? We investigated ourselves, and it turns out everything's fine. Nothing to see here!

[Godstud]

@Heisenberg What was I thinking! The most reliable reports are ones you make on yourself.

[Istanbuller]

You both worship the religion of anti-racism, don't you? Snowflakes

[snapdragon]

I don’t doubt the report. There is certainly a lot of everyday racism between individuals and some groups, but not institutional. It’s not long since there was, though, so it could creep back.
Personally, I’m glad to see the ridiculous acronym BAME is being kicked out of use. Nobody I know likes being lumped together with everyone else from the same part of the world.
My neighbour says, I was born in Hackney, mate and my dad in Trinidad. I’m not like those fuckers next door.

[Dimetrodon]

I mean, the modern UK does seem to be very progressive. I'm not surprised, and I would think the biggest problem in the UK would be the Ireland situation, not dealing with non-whites in their criminal justice system.

[noemon]

This report is causing more harm than good.

Most senior Black aide in Government resigns in protest of report.

“I fear for what may become of the party in the future by choosing to pursue a politics steeped in division,” Kasumu wrote in his letter to the PM and that was in February before the report came out.

The Windrush scandal is treated as an 'exceptional error' by the report when it is more like the standard rule.

Priti Patel is not an exceptional error, she is the Home Secretary aka Minister of Immigration.

Boris Johnson is not an exceptional error either, he is the Prime Minister. The things he has said would put the KKK to shame.

The Daily Telegraph that is the Tories newspaper, often called the Torygraph pumps out toxic jingoistic outrage systematically.

Edit:

More coming in. Experts cited in the report come out: "I was never consulted"

Two experts named as “stakeholders” in a landmark report into race disparities in Britain have hit out at claims they provided evidence, with one protesting: “I was never consulted.”

It comes as the government faces a backlash over the findings of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, which concluded that the UK was no longer a country where the “system is deliberately rigged” against ethnic minorities.

On Thursday, the commission was accused by Baroness Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, of “giving the green light to racists” and Boris Johnson’s most senior black adviser quit after questioning government’s approach on race.

The appendix to the 258-page report – commissioned in response to the Black Lives Matter protests – expressed thanks to stakeholders including professional bodies, charities and academics for providing “evidence during the course of its work”.

SI Martin, an author who specialises in the field of black British history and literature, who is named in the report, told The Independent: “I was never consulted, I don’t know what record they have of contacting me.”

“I just would not have agreed to have been consulted even if I had been asked, but I’ve not been asked. I have been invited to things in the past – not by this administration – I just don’t go, I just refuse. It’s just not something I do.”

Pressed on his reaction to seeing his name in the report, the historian said it was a “growing shock”, asking: “How many other people have been roped unknowingly into this? Rubber-stamping this nonsense.”

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Describing the report as a “horrible, typical, right-wing fig leaf”, he went on: “I would ask them when did they consult? Who did they ask? Who are these stakeholders and participants? On which planet do they live that they can arrive at that conclusion?”

After being alerted to the author’s inclusion, The Independent understands the commission will remove his name from the list – acknowledging it had been included in error.

A second academic, Stephen Bourne, a historian of black Britain, also told The Independent he felt “manipulated” at his name appearing in the report as being consulted by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

Mr Bourne, who described the report as “flawed” and insisted institutional racism does exist, claimed to have been contacted by No 10 adviser Samuel Kasumu. After having a conversation with him in June, he was later invited to a Downing Street roundtable of historians of black Britain in October 2020, he said.

“Nothing was explained to me,” he went on. “I wrote down some of their names of the people there [at the roundtable], and when I googled them and the penny dropped that they were this commission.”

Mr Bourne added he later contacted Downing Street and read the “riot act” to Mr Kasumu.

“How dare you do that, I said that is so unprofessional so rude to invite me to what I thought was going to be what we discussed, a round table discussion of historians of black Britain. And it turns out to be this commission which I’ve never heard of.”

It was confirmed on Thursday that top adviser Mr Kasumu himself would stand down after warning in an earlier resignation letter that the government was pursuing “a politics steeped in division”. Downing Street says his departure is unrelated to the commission’s report.

Jamie Klingler from Reclaim These Streets speaks to the media in Clapham Common, south London, after a review by the Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor concluded that Metropolitan Police officers “did not act inappropriately or in a heavy-handed manner” at the vigil

A spokesperson for the commission later said: “Stephen Bourne participated in a 10 Downing Street event for Black History Month, in which he made a valuable contribution about the curriculum which influenced the thinking of the commissioners on the subject. We thanked him as a courtesy.”

Meanwhile, the King’s Fund think tank raised concerns about the commission’s claims that two of its academics, Veena Raleigh and Shilpa Ross, were listed as contributors to its report.

A spokesperson for the fund said it was “not strictly true” that the pair had produced research for the commission. They said that the researchers had presented some existing publicly available material and that beyond that neither “Veena or Shilpa had any involvement”.

And Sir John Bell, regius professor of medicine at the University of Oxford who, after seeing his name on the list, told The Daily Telegraph: “Totally news to me. I never spoke to them. I did support this office and had a call with them, but that is not the report – it is different.”

Publishing the long-awaited report on Wednesday its authors said the term institutional racism was “too liberally used” and that factors such as socio-economic background, culture and religion have a “more significant impact on life chances”.

However, the authors said that “outright racism still exists”, the UK was not a “post-racial society”, and stressed: “We take the reality of racism seriously and we do not deny that it is a real force in the UK.”

But criticism continued to pour in on Thursday. Baroness Lawrence said she believed the review had pushed back the cause of anti-racism by 20 years, adding: “You imagine what’s going to happen come tomorrow. What’s going to happen on our streets with our young people? You are giving racists the green light.”

Speaking on Thursday, Boris Johnson said the government would respond fully to the commission’s report “in due course”, adding that there were “serious issues that our society faces to do with racism”.

[Prosthetic Conscience]

@noemon is right, the Windrush scandal showed institutional racism, and it grew from Theresa May's "hostile environment", with vans with the slogan "go home or face arrest" driving around high immigration areas (even Nigel Farage called it "nasty"]. So that's the 2 most recent PMs with awful racist behaviour, and a system that did little or nothing to stop them.

The injustices done in the Windrush scandal are slowly being righted, but that does not mean the racism has been fixed.