N-word scandal grows as DWP launches probe into racial slur also used by Met Office

A scandal over the use of racial slurs by British institutions has deepened as it emerged the Met Office used the term ‘N*****d’ to describe Black people.

The weather forecaster’s use of the offensive word, in a report about the impact of solar radiation on human health, emerged as the Department for Work and Pensions launched an investigation into the use of the same term in official guidance.

DWP paperwork, first issued in 2010 to help doctors assess disability benefit claims but still in use until just days ago, referred to Black people as being of the “N*****d race”, the Independent revealed this week. The Met Office study – Monitoring of mean radiant temperature for man – was published in 2012 and was also publicly available until now.

Both documents have now been removed online after they were highlighted by The Independent and the Met Office has apologised for any offence caused.

But campaigners said it was “utterly scandalous” that the “language of racism” continues to exist in 2023 “because Britain stubbornly refuses to deal with the legacy of empire and of colonialism”.

And Georgie Laming, director of campaigns at advocacy group Hope not Hate, said: “When we assume that racist slurs like these are confined to a bygone era, it breeds complacency in tackling racism. How this hasn’t been spotted sooner is astonishing, and shows that we must keep up the pressure to remove structural inequalities and racism in our society.”

The use of the word by two entirely separate organisations raised the question of whether it has also been used in official documents elsewhere.

Have you seen the word used in official documents? If so email nadine.white@independent.co.uk

The widely condemned DWP guidance was signed off by the department before being distributed to health professionals employed by Atos, a contractor that runs disability benefit assessments on behalf of the government. A DWP spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday that a probe into its use of the word has been launched.

“We do not condone the offensive and unacceptable language used in this 13-year-old document, which was produced by an external contractor in 2006 for use by their health professionals,” they said. “It is no longer in use and we have commissioned an investigation led by the Government Internal Audit Agency.”

The Met Office said that “there must be zero tolerance to any form of racism or discrimination”, adding that it was “taking steps” to improve.

Addressing both uses of the slur, political activist Professor Gus John told The Independent: “It is utterly scandalous that in 2023, any government document in use anywhere in the British Isles should routinely employ the term ‘n******d’. Racism and the language of racism continues to exist in structural, cultural, institutional and personal manifestations because Britain stubbornly refuses to deal with the legacy of empire and of colonialism.

“N*****d .... does not connote a geographical place or region, but a people whose standing in the human realm has been defined as primitive, undeveloped, backward and not as human as the rest of humanity, thus qualifying to be used as chattels, or for experimentation by eugenicists.”

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Author Nova Reid added: “Continued causal use of centuries-old racist language in official guidelines is merely a symptom of the deeply ingrained systemic racism that will continue to plague this country until it is acknowledged and adequately addressed. None of this is new behaviour.

“The fact that it’s taken an independent investigation from The Independent to have such denigrating language – language that appears to be steeped in racist eugenics – only just removed is abhorrent. That this has been in circulation until recently is deeply concerning and says a lot about the government’s views on Black people and its priorities in taking racism seriously.”

The Met Office explained that the paper that used the word was part of a wider study looking at the impact of solar radiation on human health and how this impact might vary due to skin colour.

“We’d like to apologise for any offence caused by the term used in the document in our archive,” a spokesperson said. “We agree there must be zero tolerance to any form of racism or discrimination and recognise that we can always do more. We have suspended the paper from the archive and are taking steps to improve our processes in this area.

“As an organisation, we’re committed to ensuring we are an inclusive organisation with a diversity of staff and thought. Our equality, diversity and inclusion strategy outlines the tangible steps we’re taking to ensure all staff feel valued and we represent the communities we serve. “

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The Met Office revelation comes after a chorus of politicians and campaigners hit out at the DWP document, including the prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Crossbench peer Lord Simon Woolley praised The Independent for “highlighting this awful discriminatory labelling by government officials”. “It is not just that it was a racial slur,” Lord Woolley added. “It is also indicative of how demeaning[ly] Black people in this country are seen.”

And Tory MP Sir Peter Bottomley, a member of the all-party parliamentary group on race and community, said officials responsible for the advice “ought to hang their heads in shame”.