Newcastle MP slams Government report claiming the UK is not racist

Campaigners have called a landmark race report 'insulting', 'flawed' and 'cynical'.

The review - which was ordered by Boris Johnson last year - concludes that the UK's no longer 'rigged' against non-white people.

Newcastle Central MP Chi Onwurah tells us the report has done more to divide than country than unite it;

"I am very disappointed and indeed depressed by this report, which argues there is no such thing as institutional racism in the United Kingdom.

"I think it represents a step backwards and it is a mean betrayal of the really important fight against racism in which the North East has played such a major role,

"And it's also a betrayal of all the values which this country aspires to."

The report claims the success of children from ethnic minority backgrounds has 'transformed society', and rejects claims people from those communities have worse health outcomes

The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities review claims that for some key health metrics, including life expectancy and overall mortality, ethnic minority groups had better outcomes than the white majority population.

The report, commissioned in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, says this evidence "clearly suggests'' ethnicity is not the major driver'' of health inequalities in the UK.

Instead, it suggests that deprivation, geography and differential exposure to key risk factors, including obesity, smoking and alcohol use, were indicators for worse health outcomes.

But NHS Providers, the organisation representing NHS trusts in England, disagreed with the report's conclusions and called it damaging'' to deny the link between structural racism and wider health inequalities.

Meanwhile, the Centre for Mental Health charity said the report had painted a partial picture'' of racial injustice in the UK and its effects on mental health, which are often "reinforced'' by people's healthcare experiences.

"The commission rejects the common view that ethnic minorities have universally worse health outcomes compared with white people, the picture is much more variable,'' the report says.

"Given that most ethnic minorities have higher levels of deprivation, compared with the white majority population, these health outcomes clearly suggest that deprivation is not destiny.''

The report suggests that for Covid-19 and many other health conditions, there is a complex interplay'' of socio-economic, behavioural, cultural and in some cases genetic risk factors which lead to disparities.

It said analyses had shown that the increased risk of dying with coronavirus of those from black and South Asian communities was due to an increased risk of exposure to infection'', through factors such as living in urban areas.

However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis the report refers to said that studies continued to show those from a black ethnic background were at a greater risk of death involving Covid-19 than all other ethnic groups.

Published on Wednesday, the long-awaited 264-page report said it engaged with relevant experts and frontline workers when considering disparities in health.