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UK report on racism draws criticism

Racism - Level 4

A report on racism has been criticised. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was set up in the UK last year after the death of George Floyd. The commission said racism remains a "real force," but said the UK is no longer "deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities". It said people use racism as a "catch-all explanation" for not getting ahead. It added things like geography, culture and religion have a bigger impact on success in life.

Critics of the report called it "a truly historic denial of the scale of race inequality". A UK politician was deeply critical of the report. He accused the government of "gaslighting" the British public. He tweeted: "For my own mental well-being I am not doing media interviews on the race commission today. Like so many in Britain's Black community, I'm tired of the endless debate about whether structural racism exists with little desire to actually address it."

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Racism - Level 5

A report on racism in the UK has been heavily criticised. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was set up last year in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. That death sparked worldwide protests and fuelled the Black Lives Matter movement. The commission acknowledged that racism remains a "real force," but said the UK is no longer "deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities". It said people use racism as a "catch-all explanation" for not getting ahead in life. It added things like geography, culture and religion have a bigger impact on success in life.

Advocates of racial equality called the report, "a truly historic denial of the scale of race inequality". The day the report was released, the UK government's most senior adviser on race resigned. A leading UK politician was deeply critical of the report. He accused the government of "gaslighting" the British public. He tweeted: "For my own mental well-being I am not doing media interviews on the race commission today. Like so many in Britain's Black community, I'm tired of the endless debate about whether structural racism exists with little desire to actually address it."

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Racism - Level 6

A report on racism commissioned by the United Kingdom has drawn criticism from upholders of racial equality. The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities was established last summer in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in the USA. That death sparked protests across the world and fuelled the Black Lives Matter movement. The commission acknowledged that racism remains a "real force" in the UK. However, it said the British system is no longer "deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities". It said people use racism as a "catch-all explanation" for not getting ahead in life. It added that geography, family, socio-economic background, culture and religion have a more significant impact on success in life than race.

Advocates of racial equality called the report, "a truly historic denial of the scale of race inequality in Britain". The day the report was released, the UK government's most senior adviser on race resigned, although he said the timing was coincidental. A leading UK politician and radio show host, David Lammy, was deeply critical of the report. He accused the government of "gaslighting" the British public. He tweeted: "For my own mental well-being I am not doing media interviews on the race commission today. Like so many in Britain's Black community, I'm tired of the endless debate about whether structural racism exists with little desire to actually address it. We are being gaslighted."

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