View source for Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities

{{Short description|British government commission on race and ethnic disparities, active from 2020 to 2021}}
[[File:20210331 - CRED Report - FINAL - Web Accessible.pdf|thumb|Front cover of the 31 March 2021 report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities]]
The '''Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities  (CRED)''' was a UK Government commission supported by the Race Disparity Unit of the [[Cabinet Office]]. It was established in 2020 in the wake of [[Black Lives Matter]] [[George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom|protests]] following the [[murder of George Floyd]].<ref name=sewell>{{cite news |title=Charity boss Tony Sewell to head government race commission |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53428248 |access-date=12 April 2021 |work=BBC News |date=16 July 2020}}</ref> [[Boris Johnson]] gave it the brief of investigating race and ethnic disparities in the UK. Johnson argued that the UK needed to consider important questions about race relations and disparities and that a thorough examination of why so many disparities persist and what needed to be done to work out to eliminate or mitigate them.
Commission members were recruited by political adviser [[Munira Mirza]], who has previously denied the existence of structural and institutional racism.<ref name="the Guardian">{{cite news |title=Dismay as No 10 adviser is chosen to set up UK race inequality commission |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/15/dismay-over-adviser-chosen-set-up-uk-race-inequality-commission-munira-mirza |access-date=5 April 2021 |work=the Guardian |date=15 June 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{cite news |title=Race report: Was controversy part of the plan? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56578839 |access-date=5 April 2021 |work=BBC News |date=3 April 2021}}</ref> The members were [[Tony Sewell]] (who was appointed in July 2020 to lead the Commission), [[Maggie Aderin-Pocock]], Aftab Chughtai, [[Keith Fraser (police officer)|Keith Fraser]], [[Ajay Kakkar]], Naureen Khalid, [[Dambisa Moyo]], Mercy Muroki, Martyn Oliver, Samir Shah and Kunle Olulode.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities|title=Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities|website=GOV.UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/31/racial-disparities-in-the-uk-the-people-who-compiled-the-report|title=Racial disparities in the UK: the people who compiled the report|first1=Tobi|last1=Thomas|first2=Aamna|last2=Mohdin|date=March 31, 2021|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> ''The Observer'' reported that the members did not write all of the report, nor was it made  available in full to them prior to publication.<ref name=Nosheen>{{cite news |last1=Iqbal |first1=Nosheen |title=Downing Street rewrote 'independent' report on race, experts claim |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/apr/11/downing-street-rewrote-independent-report-on-race-experts-claim |access-date=12 April 2021 |work=The Observer |date=11 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
The commission published its report in March 2021, the content of which caused considerable controversy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/windrush-campaigners-alarmed-by-omissions-of-no-10-race-report|title=Windrush campaigners alarmed by omissions of No 10 race report|date=April 2, 2021|website=the Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/race-report-bame-gaslighting-sewell-commission-b1825200.html|title=Editorial: The government's race report is an exercise in gaslighting|date=April 1, 2021|website=The Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-56585538|title=Race report: 'UK not deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities'|date=March 31, 2021|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/31/boris-johnson-news-lockdown-easing-covid-eu-vaccine-pmqs/|title=Race report 'reluctant to accept structural issues', says Sir Keir Starmer|first1=Catherine|last1=Neilan|first2=Tony|last2=Diver|date=March 31, 2021|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=Matiluko>{{cite news|url=https://longreads.politicshome.com/truth-lies-and-racism-the-story-behind-the-sewell-report|title=Truth, lies and racism: The story behind the "Sewell Report"|first=Seun|last=Matiluko|work=The House|date=7 January 2023|accessdate=7 January 2023}}</ref> The report concluded that the "claim the country is still institutionally racist is not borne out by the evidence", but some experts complained that the report misrepresented evidence, and that recommendations from ethnic minority business leaders who contributed were ignored.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Savage|first1=Michael|last2=Iqbal|first2=Nosheen|date=4 April 2021|title=Race report boss wanted schools to teach 'the truth' about modern Britain|work=The Observer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/04/race-report-boss-wanted-schools-to-teach-the-truth-about-modern-britain?CMP=GTUK_email|access-date=4 April 2021}}</ref> Seun Matiluko has written that CRED "would become one of the most controversial government commissions of the 21st century".<ref name=Matiluko/> Additionally, a section on the [[Slavery in the British and French Caribbean|Caribbean slave trade]] was amended, following widespread criticism that it glorified the practice and downplayed its negative effects.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/30/uk-race-commission-amends-line-on-slave-trade-after-criticism |title=UK race commission amends line on slave trade after criticism |author=Aamna Mohdin |date=2021-04-30 |publisher=Guardian }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/downing-street-faces-backlash-over-landmark-report-on-race-r8z08n37r |title=Backlash over Sewell report slavery claim
|author=Simon Murphy, Eleni Courea |date=2021-03-31 |work=The Times }}</ref>
==Members==
Commission members were recruited by political adviser [[Munira Mirza]], who has previously denied the existence of structural and institutional racism.<ref name="the Guardian"/><ref name="BBC News"/>
*[[Tony Sewell]], who led the Commission was running the charity Generating Genius and had previously worked with Boris Johnson during his mayorship of London. The BBC described him as a "longstanding commentator on racial issues and education" who had attracted criticism for some of some comments including that lessons were too "feminised", Afro-Caribbean culture was "anti-intellectual" and that "much of the supposed evidence of institutional racism is flimsy".<ref name=sewell/>
*[[Maggie Aderin-Pocock]], a space scientist and presenter of the BBC programme ''[[The Sky at Night]]''.<ref name=sewell/>
*Aftab Chughtai, the owner of a Birmingham department store and cofounder of the pro-[[Brexit]] group [[Muslims for Britain]].<ref name=sewell/><ref>{{cite web |title=Aftab Chughtai MBE |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/aftab-chughtai |website=GOV.UK |access-date=12 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Jonathan |title=Birmingham businessman appointed to Boris' commission to end racial inequality |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/black-lives-matter-birmingham-businessman-18607527 |access-date=12 April 2021 |work=BirminghamLive |date=16 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Keith Fraser (police officer)|Keith Fraser]], a former police officer and chair of the [[Youth Justice Board]] for England and Wales.<ref name=sewell/>
*[[Ajay Kakkar]], a Professor of Surgery at [[University College London]].<ref name=sewell/>
*Naureen Khalid, a co-founder of UkGovChat, an online forum for school governors.<ref name=sewell/>
*[[Dambisa Moyo]], an economist and author.<ref name=sewell/>
*[[Mercy Muroki]], a researcher at the [[Centre for Social Justice]] think tank.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mercy Muroki |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/people/mercy-muroki |website=GOV.UK |access-date=12 April 2021 |language=en |date=16 July 2020}}</ref>
*Martyn Oliver, CEO of the [[Outwood Grange Academies Trust]].<ref name=sewell/>
*[[Samir Shah]], a former journalist and former chair of [[The Runnymede Trust]].<ref name=sewell/>
*Kunle Olulode, an anti-racism activist and director of the charity Voice4Change.<ref name=Nosheen/>
== Reactions ==
=== Political ===
[[Keir Starmer]], leader of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], said that he was "disappointed" by the Commission's report.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Neilan|first1=Catherine|last2=Diver|first2=Tony|date=31 March 2021|title=Race report 'reluctant to accept structural issues', says Sir Keir Starmer|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/31/boris-johnson-news-lockdown-easing-covid-eu-vaccine-pmqs/|access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=31 March 2021|title=Race report: 'UK not deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities'|work=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56585538|access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref>
Isabelle Parasram, vice president of the [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]], issued a statement that the Commission had "missed the opportunity to make a clear, bold statement on the state of race equality in this country". Parasram said that the "evidence and impact of racism in the UK is overwhelming" and that "whilst some of recommendations made in the report are helpful, they fall far short of what could have been achieved".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Parasram|first=Isabelle|title=Statement on the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities|work=[[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]|url=https://www.libdems.org.uk/statement-commission-race-and-ethnic-disparities|access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref>
The [[Green Party of England and Wales]] issued a statement condemning the summary of the report as "a deliberate attempt to whitewash institutional racism" and that "Institutional racism in the UK does exist".<ref>{{Cite news|date=31 March 2021|title=Greens are clear: Institutional racism in the UK does exist|work=[[Green Party of England and Wales]]|url=https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2021/03/31/greens-are-clear-institutional-racism-in-the-uk-does-exist/|access-date=1 April 2021}}</ref>
In March 2022, the government announced a series of policy measures intended to address racial disparities, informed by the report. The action plan is called Inclusive Britain.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-60769468|title=Long-term plan to tackle racial disparity in UK|first=Adina|last=Campbell|publisher=BBC News|date=17 March 2022|accessdate=17 March 2022}}</ref>
=== Other ===
[[Rose Hudson-Wilkin]], the [[Bishop of Dover]], described the report as "deeply disturbing"; she said the “lived experience” of the people “tells a different story to that being shared by this report”.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pat|first=Ashworth|date=2 April 2021|title=Commission's report on race 'deeply disturbing' says Bishop of Dover|work=Church Times|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2021/9-april/news/uk/commission-s-report-on-race-sets-inappropriate-tone-says-archdeacon|access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref>
The historian [[David Olusoga]] accused the report's authors of appearing to prefer "history to be swept under the carpet" and compared it to the [[Donald Trump|Trump]]-era [[1776 Commission]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Quinn|first1=Ben|last2=Parveen|first2=Nazia|date=2 April 2021|title=Historian David Olusoga joins academic criticism of No 10's race report|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/02/historian-and-hundreds-of-academics-attack-no-10s-race-report|access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref>
A ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' editorial quoted [[Boris Johnson]]'s intent to "change the narrative so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination"<ref>{{Cite news|last=Honeycombe-Foster|first=Matt|date=15 June 2020|title=Boris Johnson launches fresh review into racial inequality in wake of Black Lives Matters protests|work=PoliticsHome|url=https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/boris-johnson-launches-fresh-review-into-racial-inequality-in-wake-of-black-lives-matters-protests|access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref> when setting up the commission, and as evidence of the reality of racial inequality listed five recent government reports on different aspects:<ref>{{Cite news|date=31 March 2021|title=The Guardian view on Boris Johnson's race review: you cannot be serious|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/31/the-guardian-view-on-boris-johnsons-race-review-you-cannot-be-serious|access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref>
* the criminal justice system (the [[David Lammy]] review of 2017<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Bowcott|first1=Owen|last2=Dodd|first2=Vikram|date=8 September 2017|title=Exposed: 'racial bias' in England and Wales criminal justice system|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2017/sep/08/racial-bias-uk-criminal-justice-david-lammy|access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lammy|first=David|date=8 September 2017|title=Lammy review: final report|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/lammy-review-final-report|access-date=2 April 2021|website=gov.uk}}</ref>);
* schools, courts, and the workplace (the [[Theresa May]] race audit of 2017<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Asthana|first1=Anushka|last2=Bengtsson|first2=Helena|date=9 October 2017|title=Audit lays bare racial disparities in UK schools, courts and workplaces|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/oct/09/audit-lays-bare-racial-disparities-in-uk-schools-courts-and-workplaces|access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref>);
* pay (the [[Ruby McGregor-Smith]] review of 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/race-in-the-workplace-the-mcgregor-smith-review|title=Race in the workplace: The McGregor-Smith Review|website=GOV.UK|language=en|access-date=2018-07-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/news/articles/government-employers-publish-ethnicity-pay-gap-review|title=Government urges employers to publish ethnicity pay gap as it launches equality review|last=Burt|first=Emily|website=People Management|language=en|access-date=2018-07-20}}</ref>);
* deaths in police custody (the [[Elish Angiolini]] report of 2017<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/02/deaths-in-custody-government-report-theresa-may|title=Now we know the shocking facts of deaths in custody, will Theresa May act? - Eric Allison and Simon Hattenstone|first1=Eric|last1=Allison|first2=Simon|last2=Hattenstone|date=2 November 2017|access-date=2 November 2017|website=Theguardian.com}}</ref>);
* the [[Windrush scandal]] (the Wendy Williams review of 2020<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gentleman|first=Amelia|date=14 October 2020|title=Windrush report author attacks Home Office's response|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/14/windrush-report-author-attacks-home-office-response|access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Williams|first=Wendy|date=31 March 2020|title=Windrush Lessons Learned Review by Wendy Williams|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/windrush-lessons-learned-review|website=gov.uk}}</ref>).
[[David Goodhart]] from the right-wing think tank [[Policy Exchange]] welcomed the report as "a game-changer for how Britain talks about race".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-03-31|title=The Sewell commission is a game-changer for how Britain talks about race|url=https://policyexchange.org.uk/the-sewell-commission-is-a-game-changer-for-how-britain-talks-about-race/|access-date=2021-04-09|website=Policy Exchange|language=en-GB}}</ref>
In an article analysing the report in the journal ''[[Ethnicities (journal)|Ethnicities]]'', Leon Tikly, the UNESCO Chair in Good Quality Education at the University of Bristol, focused on the report's "spurious claims to objectivity, the erasure of racism and the inadequacy of its recommendations". Tikly wrote that "[t]hrough advocating a '[[Racial color blindness|colourblind]]' approach to education policy and the selective appropriation of [[multicultural]] discourse", the report "needs to be understood as part of a wider effort to reconfigure the nationalist project in response to crisis". Tikly did, however, argue that "despite its many flaws, the Sewell report poses challenges for those who have traditionally been aligned to multiculturalism and antiracism in education".<ref>{{cite journal|first=Leon|last=Tikly|title=Racial formation and education: A critical analysis of the Sewell report|journal=Ethnicities|year=2022|volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=857–881 |doi=10.1177/14687968211061882|doi-access=free|hdl=1983/c138bb0c-bd68-488c-9655-ecc699ab5d54|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
In a response to the report published in ''[[BMJ]] Opinion'', medical scholars [[Mohammad S. Razai]], [[Azeem Majeed]] and [[Aneez Esmail]] argued that "the report’s conclusions, recommendations, and cherry-picked data to support a particular narrative shows why it should have been externally [[peer review]]ed by independent health experts and scientists", and noted the absence of any health experts or biomedical scientists among its authors. Razai, Majeed and Esmail argued that the report's conclusions were reached by ignoring evidence identifying systemic racism as a cause of ethnic differences in socioeconomic status, and characterised the report's claims about COVID-19 as unsupported, and its claims about life expectancy as false and contradictory. The authors concluded that the report was "more suitable as a political manifesto rather than an authoritative expert report."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/03/31/structural-racism-is-a-fundamental-cause-and-driver-of-ethnic-disparities-in-health/|title=Structural racism is a fundamental cause and driver of ethnic disparities in health|date=31 March 2021|access-date=14 August 2021|work=BMJ Opinion|first1=Mohammad S.|last1=Razai|author1-link=Mohammad S. Razai|first2=Azeem|last2=Majeed|author2-link=Azeem Majeed|first3=Aneez|last3=Esmail|author3-link=Aneez Esmail}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/news/2021/04/01/british-medical-journal-warns-that-the-governments-race-report-isa-missed-opportunity-to-tackle-disparities-in-healthcare-among-ethnic-minorities/|title= British Medical Journal warns that the government's race report is "a missed opportunity" to tackle disparities in healthcare among ethnic minorities|date=1 April 2021|access-date=14 August 2022|work=[[The Voice (British newspaper)|The Voice]]|first=Leah|last=Mahon}}</ref>
Several individuals and institutions identified by the report's authors as having conducted research for the report, including [[The King's Fund]] and the historians [[Stephen Bourne (writer)|Stephen Bourne]] and [[S. I. Martin]], said after its publication that they had not conducted research specifically for the commission. Bourne said he had been identified as a "stakeholder" after identifying a [[roundtable discussion]], and had not known the purpose of the event or that the report was being compiled.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/01/experts-cited-in-no-10s-race-report-claim-they-were-not-properly-consulted|title=Experts cited in No 10's race report claim they were not properly consulted|date=1 April 2021|access-date=17 August 2022|work=[[The Guardian]]|first=Aamna|last=Mohdin}}</ref>
The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent issued a statement categorically rejecting and condemning the analysis and findings of the report.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-19 |title=UN Experts Condemn UK Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/04/un-experts-condemn-uk-commission-race-and-ethnic-disparities-report |website=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities website]
*[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-report-of-the-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities The report of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities] 31 March 2021
*[https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-commission-on-race-and-ethnic-disparities-statement Statement from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities on the report published 31 March 2021] 2 April 2021
{{Cabinet Office|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Racism in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Reports of the United Kingdom government]]
[[Category:2020 establishments in the United Kingdom]]