ALMOST two-thirds of black and minority ethnic (BAME) MPs have experienced some form of racism while working in parliament, new research has shown.
According to a recent study carried out by ITV, half of respondents said they have faced abuse from fellow MPs.
The study was based on anonymous responses of 37 of the 65 BME MPs in the current parliament.
The respondents include MPs from the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
Around 62 per cent said they faced “racism or racial profiling” while on the parliamentary estate. More than half of the MPs had faced it from their colleagues.
Of the MPs, 92 per cent said they believed their ethnicity made it harder for them to enter parliament, while 83 per cent said it had made their job more difficult.
The study even revealed that 83 per cent of MPs had experienced racism from the public.
Shockingly, Brent Central MP Dawn Butler said that she had once been ‘escorted’ out of the member’s tea room by a police officer. "Though he was told I was a member of parliament", she said.
Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn Tulip Siddiq told ITV that when she was pregnant a colleague was ‘surprised’ that Siddiq was having a daughter.
In the latter’s opinion, people from Asian backgrounds were likely to abort girls.
Siddiq added that when she was first running for parliament someone advised her to use her husband’s surname, because “people wouldn’t vote for ‘Tulip Siddiq’”.
Other MPs said they had been spat at in the street because of their religion.
Afzal Khan, the Labour MP for Manchester Gorton, shared his experience of getting racist letters and emails asking to “go back to Pakistan.’”
Dharavi slum in Mumbai
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session. (Photo: Hertfordshire Police /Handout via REUTERS)
Man pleads not guilty to murder of BBC presenter's family
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC sports commentator John Hunt in a crossbow and knife attack.
Kyle Clifford, who also faces charges of rape, appeared via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday.
Clifford, arrested in July after a manhunt, is charged with three counts of murder, one count each of rape and false imprisonment, and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a 10-inch knife and a crossbow.
During the hearing, Clifford denied all the charges except for the rape charge, which was added to the indictment at the session.
He is expected to enter a plea for that charge at a later date.
The victims were Carol Hunt, 61, wife of horseracing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28.
An earlier hearing revealed that Louise had been found tied up and that both she and her sister had been shot with a crossbow, while their mother had been stabbed with a knife.
The fatal attack occurred at the family’s home in Bushey, a commuter town near Watford, northwest of London.
(With inputs from AFP)