More must be done to fix ‘serious’ racism issues in UK – PM

BORIS Johnson has said more work needs to be done to tackle “very serious issues” of racism in Britain as ministers faced a backlash over a Government-backed review on racial disparity.

The Prime Minister thanked Samuel Kasumu, his most senior black adviser, after it emerged that he had quit, with Downing Street insisting his departure was “absolutely nothing to do” with the report.

The landmark review by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) drew heavy criticism over its findings, with claims that it is culturally deaf, out of step with public opinion, and “steeped in denial”.

Its chairman said it had found no evidence of “institutional racism”, and the report criticised the way the term has been applied, saying it should not be used as a “catch-all” phrase for any micro-aggression.

The Prime Minister called the review a “very interesting piece of work” but admitted more needed to be done to address racism. “I don’t say the Government is going to agree with absolutely everything in it, but it has some original and stimulating work in it that I think people need to read and to consider,” Mr Johnson said.

“There are very serious issues that our society faces to do with racism that we need to address. We’ve got to do more to fix it, we need to understand the severity of the problem, and we’re going to be looking at all the ideas that they have put forward, and we’ll be making our response.”

Mr Johnson defended the commissioners for coming forward “with about 24 interesting ideas to promote equality” and said ministers would respond to the findings “in due course”.

Mr Kasumu resigned from his role as a special adviser to Mr Johnson on civil society but will stay in post until May to continue work on improving vaccine uptake in minority groups, Politico reported.

Asked about Mr Kasumu’s resignation, Mr Johnson said: “I worked very closely with Samuel in the last year or so and he has done some great stuff.

“I thank him very much, particularly on helping to encourage vaccine takeup amongst more hesitant groups and communities.”

Number 10 sources insisted Mr Kasumu’s departure was “absolutely nothing to do with the report”, which was published in full on Wednesday.

Politico, an online magazine, reported that Mr Kasumu notified the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield, of his decision to quit his job last week. He has reportedly been unhappy in Government for some time, with a resignation letter drafted – but then retracted – in February. The letter, obtained by the BBC, accused the Conservative Party of pursuing “a politics steeped in division”.

The commission report said geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion all affect life chances more than racism.