BRITAIN is no longer a country where the “system is deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities”, a landmark review commissioned in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement has argued.
The Commission on Race and Ethnic disparities said that geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion all impact life chances more than racism.
In a foreword to the report, Commission chairman Dr Tony Sewell said some communities are haunted by historic racism and there is a “reluctance to acknowledge that the UK had become open and fairer”.
He said the review found some evidence of biases, but often it was a perception that the wider society could not be trusted.
Dr Sewell wrote: “Too often ‘racism’ is the catch-all explanation, and can be simply implicitly accepted rather than explicitly examined.
“The evidence shows that geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion have more significant impact on life chances than the existence of racism.
“That said, we take the reality of racism seriously and we do not deny that it is a real force in the UK.”
Shadow women and equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova said: “To downplay institutional racism in a pandemic where black, Asian and ethnic minority people have died disproportionately and are now twice as likely to be unemployed is an insult.”
Labour MP David Lammy said the report was an “insult to anybody and everybody across this country who experiences institutional racism”.
NHS Providers said it disagreed with the report’s conclusions and said there is “clear and unmistakable” evidence that NHS ethnic minority staff have worse experiences and face more barriers than white counterparts.
The 264-page report makes 24 recommendations, including for extended school days to be phased in, starting with disadvantaged areas, to help pupils catch up on missed learning during the pandemic.
The Commission also recommends that the acronym BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) should no longer be used as differences between groups are as important as what they have in common.
