There is no evidence of “institutional racism” in Britain, although there is evidence that “overt” prejudice exists, the man behind a landmark study set up in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement has said.
Tony Sewell, who is chairman of the Commission on Race and Ethnic disparities, said while there was anecdotal evidence of racism, he denied there was any proof that it was structural, saying there was data to show some ethnic minorities were doing well in the jobs market and in education.
Labour said action was needed to tackle racism, rather than simply another report.
Dr Halima Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, said it was “deeply, deeply worrying” that the commission has denied the existence of institutional racism, and added she feels “massively let down”.
It follows wider discussions around racism following the death of George Floyd last year, subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, elite sports stars taking the knee before football matches, and a claim by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey that a member of the royal family – not the Queen or the Duke of Edinburgh – had made a racist comment about their son Archie.
Mr Sewell, a former teacher who grew up in Brixton, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “No-one denies and no-one is saying racism doesn’t exist.
“We found anecdotal evidence of this.
“However… evidence of actual institutional racism? No, that wasn’t there, we didn’t find that.”
Mr Sewell also said the term “institutional racism” was “sometimes wrongly applied” as a “sort of catch-all phrase for micro-aggressions or acts of racial abuse”.
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He added: “I don’t want anyone to think this (report) doesn’t deny that companies themselves have to go out and really do better in terms of getting a broader and more diverse workforce.”
Asked whether he was hired by the government specifically to repeat his previous findings that there was no institutional racism, Mr Sewell – who was chairman of Boris Johnson’s Education Inquiry panel when the prime minister was London mayor – replied: “We have some very focused recommendations on changing the landscape for ethnic minorities, and I think that’s the key thing.
“We’ve got to acknowledge that overt racism does exist.”
Dr Begum told the PA news agency: “Institutionally, we are still racist, and for a government-appointed commission to look into (institutional) racism, to deny its existence is deeply, deeply worrying.”
She also questioned the suitability of Dr Sewell and head of the Number 10 policy unit Munira Mirza, who had a role in setting the commission up – both of whom have questioned the existence of institutional racism previously, asking: “What hope did we have that they were going to look into this in an objective manner, if not follow whatever the Government mantra is?
“We feel that if the best this government can do is come up with a style guide on BAME terminology, or what we should do about unconscious bias training, or extend a few school hours, then I’m afraid this Government doesn’t carry the confidence of black and ethnic minority communities any longer, certainly not on race.”
Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said she had not yet read the full report, but said action was needed.
She told Sky News: “It’s right to recognise that progress has been made and it’s right to celebrate it, but that shouldn’t in any sense mean we don’t see the very real problems in front of us and start to act on them.
“The government has report after report after report… what we really need now is some action to implement them.”
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