THERE is “no evidence of institutional racism” in Britain, a new report by the government’s race disparity unit said on Wednesday (31).
According to the new report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, the success of much of the ethnic minority population in education, and, to a lesser extent, the economy “should be regarded as a model for other white-majority countries”.
However, the review said the UK is not a post-racial society and "overt and outright racism persists", particularly online. It also said some communities continue to be haunted by "historic cases" of racism, creating “deep mistrust”. “Both the reality and the perception of unfairness matter,” it said.
Ordered by prime minister Boris Johnson's government, the report was triggered in the wake of worldwide Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests last summer. Tens of thousands of Britons protested across Britain last summer as part of the BLM movement in the wake of African American George Floyd's death at the hands of a white police officer, calling for action to tackle racial inequality.
At the time, protest organisers said those behind the commission did not represent their views and should be replaced, having already make clear that they did not believe that Britain had a problem with institutional racism.
In its report, the commission pinpointed education as "the single most emphatic success story of the British ethnic minority experience", saying allegations that the country was still institutionally racist were not borne out by the evidence.
Concluding that issues around race and racism were becoming less important in explaining disparities, it says different outcomes had as much to do with social class and family structure.
It also suggested the BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) acronym should no longer be used because of the differences in experience of minorities.
In response to the report, some critics have accused the government of trying to downplay the level of structural racism in the UK.
Dr Halima Begum, chief executive of race-equality think-tank Runnymede Trust, said denying the existence of institutional racism was “deeply, deeply worrying”.
Sunder Katwala, director of think-tank British Future, said although many ethnic minorities may face less prejudice than their elders did, “such comparisons make little difference to the lives of ethnic minority Britons in 2021.”
“Britain probably does put more energy than others into collecting data on race,” he said in response to the report. “That shouldn’t only be used to highlight the progress that undoubtedly has been made – it must also identify the gaps so we can take action to address them.”
Justice shadow secretary David Lammy accused Johnson's government of "slamming the door" in the faces of those fighting against institutional racism. "He has let an entire generation of white and black British people down," Lammy said on LBC Radio. "Let's not forget this report was rushed out in response to the overwhelming desire for change after the murder of George Floyd, where thousands of people rallied for the black men, women and children, suffering, still, excluded in this country because of institution racism."
Labour MP Lisa Nandy also said she was “deeply disappointed” that the review “seemed to downplay the structural problems we’ve got in this country”.
(With agencies)
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event