The shadow justice secretary David Lammy has branded the government’s race report an “insult”, with campaigners condemning its suggestion that Britain is not an institutionally racist country. The Labour MP accused Boris Johnson of ignoring the wishes of British people who “are dying to turn the page on racism”.
“Boris Johnson has just slammed the door in their faces by telling them that they’re idealists, they are wasting their time. He has let an entire generation of young white and black British people down,” he added.
Shadow equalities minister Marsha De Cordova also hit out at the report, saying the government must explain why a passage “which glorifies the slave trade” was published.
Commissioned in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests last year, the report, which was published on Wednesday, says the UK has become a “more open society”.
While admitting that racism persists, its sees the UK “as a model for other white-majority countries” regarding race equality in education and the workplace.
In his foreword, Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities chair Dr Tony Sewell wrote: “Put simply we no longer see a Britain where the system is deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities”.
However, the authors stressed: “We take the reality of racism seriously and we do not deny that it is a real force in the UK”.
Meanwhile, an immediate review into sexual abuse in schools has been announced by the Department for Education (DfE) – it will see Ofsted look at safeguarding policies in state and independent schools.
The investigation will also assess if schools have the appropriate systems in place to allow pupils to report their concerns.
Following the fallout of the race report, a string of clearly vexed social media users predicted the schools review would have little impact. “A government review into sexual abuse in British schools? What’s the bet it finds ‘no sexual abuse in British schools’?” one man wrote on Twitter.
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