Doreen Lawrence: Race report gives ‘racists the green light’ and ‘pushes racism fight back 20 years’

The mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence has claimed the government’s review of racial disparities gives “racists the green light” and that its authors are “not in touch with reality”.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence said she believed the report had pushed the fight against racism back by “20 years or more” after it suggested geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion all affected life chances more than racism.

The report, which said claims the UK suffers from institutionalised racism was “not borne out by the evidence”, has been criticised by race equality campaigners as divisive.

Criticism has also been levied at the choice to have the review led by Dr Tony Sewell, an educationalist who has previously questioned the existence of institutional racism.

Baroness Lawrence was appointed to the House of Lords in 2013 following her campaign for justice in the case of her son, who died in 1993 following a racially motivated attack.

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Speaking at a public event organised by De Montfort University Leicester’s (DMU) Stephen Lawrence Research Centre on Wednesday, she said: “I think if you were to speak to somebody whose employer speaks to them in a certain way, where do you go with that now? If a person is up for promotion and has been denied that, where does he go with that now?

“You know, all these things we’ve been working for and showing that structural racism exists – we talk about the pandemic when you look at how many of our people have died, all the nurses, the doctors, the frontline staff, of Covid, and to have this report denying that those people have suffered … They are denying that the likes of my son was murdered through racism and the fact that it took 18 years to get justice for him. The report is denying all those issues.

“Those people who marched for Black Lives Matter? It’s denying all of that. The George Floyd stuff? It’s denied all of that.

“So those who sit behind this report [saying] that racism doesn’t exist or it no longer exists need to speak to the young boys who are stopped and searched constantly on the street. They need to speak to those young people.”

Baroness Lawrence continued: “[The report authors] are not in touch with reality basically. That’s what it boils down to. When you are privileged you do not have those experiences.

“My son was murdered because of racism and you cannot forget that. Once you start covering it up, it is giving the green light to racists.

“You imagine what’s going to happen come tomorrow. What’s going to happen on our streets with our young people? You are giving racists the green light.”

Ministers have been facing a backlash over the report since its publication from campaigners and state institutions. The NHS Race and Health Observatory said it was disappointed by the review, and that “institutional racism exists in this country”.

Boris Johnson’s most senior black adviser Samuel Kasumu quit following the review’s publication, though No 10 insisted his departure was “absolutely nothing to do” with it.

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

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

Meanwhile the commission has been forced to remove the name of one contributor and defend the inclusion of a second after they denied suggestions they provided evidence, with one telling The Independent: “I was never consulted.”

Additional reporting by Press Association