Tory chairman on ‘racism’ claims: No, Britain’s open and welcoming
THE chairman of the Conservative Party yesterday dismissed claims that criticism of Meghan has been fuelled by racism. James Cleverly, whose mother is from Sierra Leone, called Britain ‘one of the least racist, most open and welcoming countries in the world’. He added: ‘That’s reinforced by things like the British Attitudes Survey and a whole load of international surveys about people’s acceptance of other races.’ Prince Harry has spoken of the ‘racial undertones of comment pieces’ and claimed his wife had faced a ‘wave of abuse and harassment’. Speaking during the Sophy Ridge on Sunday show on Sky News, Mr Cleverly said: ‘I understand that not everyone wants to live their lives in the media bubble and with that level of intense scrutiny. That’s completely understandable and I’m glad they’ve clearly come to an arrangement that the Queen is happy with and they’re happy with.’
His comments echo Home Secretary Priti Patel’s rejection of racism claims. She told BBC Radio 5 Live last week: ‘I’m not in that category where I believe there’s racism at all. I certainly haven’t seen that through any debates or commentary or things of that nature.’
The issue was inflamed during BBC Question Time last Thursday when a panellist, the actor Laurence Fox, clashed with a member of the audience.
Discussing why Meghan had returned to North America, lecturer Rachel Boyle said: ‘It’s racism, she’s a black woman and she has been torn to pieces.’
Fox, 41, hit back: ‘We’re the most tolerant, lovely country in Europe.’ When Miss Boyle pointed out he was ‘a white privileged man’, Fox said: ‘It’s so easy to throw the charge of racism at everybody and it’s really started to get boring.’
In a post on Twitter, the actors’ union Equity branded him a ‘disgrace to our industry’. Equity later backtracked from the comments and deleted the tweet.