The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
PM’s inequality commission is ‘back of a fag packet’ plan
Boris Johnson’s pledge to establish a cross-government commission on racial inequality is a “back of a fag packet” plan designed to “assuage the Black Lives Matter protest”, Labour has claimed.
Shadow justice secretary David Lammy said there have been several reviews into racism in the UK in recent years – and the announcement of another makes it feel like “we want figures, data – but we don’t want action”.
Mr Johnson, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities would look at “all aspects of inequality – in employment, in health outcomes, in academic and all other walks of life”.
And he told broadcasters: “What I really want to do as prime minister is change the narrative so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination.
“We stamp out racism and we start to have a real sense of expectation of success. That’s where I want to get to but it won’t be easy.”
The announcement follows two weeks of protests across the country by the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing in the US of George Floyd, who died as a white police officer knelt on his neck.
Mr Lammy criticised the government for not providing details on the scope of the commission.
“I don’t know why he’s announced a commission behind a paywall, in the Telegraph, buried in the middle of yet another article about Churchill,” the Labour MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“If he was serious, why are there no details about how it will be staffed, its remit, its terms of reference, its timetable? That’s the question.
“It’s because this was written on the back of a fag packet yesterday to assuage the Black Lives Matter protest. Get on with the action, legislate, move – you’re in government, do something.”
Mr Lammy said it is “deeply worrying” and “frankly immature” that Britain is still “having a conversation about whether racism actually exists”.
“And, frankly, when you watch a man die like we did in eight minutes and 46 seconds – I’d like to ask Boris Johnson why he thinks the way to
“This was written on the back of a fag packet yesterday to assuage the Black Lives Matter protest. DAVID LAMMY
commemorate his death is to announce yet another commission, and why he insists on talking about statues.”
Mr Lammy claimed the Conservative Party wants a “culture war because they want to distract from the central issue”.
David Isaac, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said there had already been “countless reports” on the issues surrounding racial inequality and called for “urgent action”.
He said: “We know the scale of the problems we face to tackle the entrenched racial inequality in our country. It is not new. There have been countless reports and the data exists exposing all the issues.
“Now is the time for urgent action. We need to see a clear and comprehensive race strategy with clear targets and timescales from government.
“We hope this new commission will help deliver that and we stand ready to work with it.”
Mr Johnson also faced criticism for saying that the government wants to stop the “sense of victimisation and discrimination”.