'Decades of discrimination' led to BAME Covid inequality, report finds

27 October 2020, 09:29

File photo: Doreen Lawrence introduces Labour MP Sir Keir Starmer during a Q&A session
File photo: Doreen Lawrence introduces Labour MP Sir Keir Starmer during a Q&A session. Picture: Getty

Decades of structural discrimination led to the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus pandemic on black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, a review has found.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence identified structural inequalities within government, health, employment and the education system that Covid-19 "thrived on" as the outbreak took hold.

BAME people have been overexposed to the virus by being overrepresented in public-facing industries where they cannot work from home and living in overcrowded housing.

Read more: Oxford Covid-19 vaccine 'showing strong immune response'

Read more: Covid-19 antibodies 'only last for months', new study finds

Workers have been put at risk by the Government's failure to facilitate Covid-secure workplaces, and the "no recourse to public funds" rule has disproportionately affected BAME communities, she said.

They have also experienced "disgraceful racism", fuelled in part by global leaders calling Covid-19 the "Chinese virus".

Baroness Lawrence was commissioned to lead the review into how Covid-19 is affecting BAME communities by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

She said it was hoped that a previous Public Health England report would recommend action to reduce disparities, but that it failed to do so.

And a statement last week from the Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch, to mark the launch of a Government report, risks being "too little too late" and failed to address systemic, structural drivers.

Dr Raghib Ali, who helped with the report on progress to address Covid-19 health inequalities, said he is not convinced structural racism played a role.

In the report's foreword, Baroness Lawrence writes: "Black, Asian and minority ethnic people have been overexposed, under-protected, stigmatised and overlooked during this pandemic - and this has been generations in the making.

"The impact of Covid is not random, but foreseeable and inevitable, the consequence of decades of structural injustice, inequality and discrimination that blights our society.

Govt reviewing why Covid-19 disproportionally affects BAME groups

"We are in the middle of an avoidable crisis.

"And this report is a rallying cry to break that clear and tragic pattern."

If no immediate action is taken more people will "unnecessarily die", she warns, adding that this pattern of injustice may continue beyond the pandemic.

Baroness Lawrence has made immediate and long-term recommendations to protect those most at risk from the virus and reduce societal inequalities.

As part of an urgent plan for the winter, the Government should remind employers they have a legal duty to record Covid-19 deaths caused by occupational exposure.

And it should be a legal requirement for employers to publish their Covid-19 risk assessments on a central government portal, while they must provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Minister: Government needs to support BAME communities over Covid outbreaks

The Government must suspend the "no recourse to public funds" rule, which prevents some migrants accessing state assistance, and give support to any person struggling to self-isolate at home.

And it must outline a plan to tackle a rise in hate crime and scapegoating, with leaders issuing a joint statement condemning attempts to pit communities against one other.

In the longer term, the Government must remove barriers to accessing health services and information, collect comprehensive data on ethnicity and reform the immigration system.

Sir Keir welcomed the report and said it must be a "turning point", promising that the next Labour government will implement a race equality Act to tackle structural racial inequality.

He said: "Government ministers should absorb this report and act immediately.

"Failure to do so will leave many of our fellow citizens badly exposed over the winter."

Marsha de Cordova, Labour's shadow minister for women and equalities, said the Government is "unwilling to accept that these issues are structural and are again failing to understand that race is a social determinant of health".

"This is a complete abdication of responsibility," she added.

A Government spokesman said: "The current evidence shows that a range of factors result in different groups being at an increased risk of infection and death from Covid-19 - from exposure in the workplace, to pre-existing health conditions.

"For this reason we must be careful to identify the root causes of the disparities we're seeing and not assume they are evidence of discrimination or unfair treatment in public services like the NHS. Indeed, many of the factors identified in the report affect non-ethnic groups as well.

"We will continue taking this work forward, to ensure that we do everything we can to protect those most at risk"

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Artist's impression of the new national biosecurity centre at Weybridge, Surrey

New centre to tackle 'risk of future pandemics' gets billion-pound investment

Screenings for cervical cancer save at least 2,000 lives each year in the UK

NHS to offer at-home cervical cancer screening test kits that 'could save 5,000 lives per year'

Zelensky visits 10 Downing Street for talks with Keir Starmer on Monday

Zelensky warns Putin could launch an attack on NATO 'within five years'

Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt arriving at the F1 The Movie premiere in Leicester Square.

'Interview with the Vampire' co-stars Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise make 'surprise' public reunion after 24 years

The first Brits are arriving in the UK after being evacuated from Israel.

First Brits rescued from Israel touch down at Heathrow Airport as more to arrive in coming days

The president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) said professionals are in distress

Stretched mental health services leaving psychiatrists ‘in emotional and ethical distress’

Jobs will be created at warehouses in locations including Hull and Northampton

Amazon’s new UK warehouses to hire thousands as Starmer hails ‘win’ for Britain

Iran has launched an attack on a US military base.

Trump claims Israel and Iran have agreed 'complete and total ceasefire' in wake of Iranian strike on US air base

A Qatar Airways flight from Manchester was forced to divert earlier this evening

UK flight bound for Doha forced to turn back after Iran launches missiles at US air base in Qatar

Sir Keir Starmer will fly to the Hague today for crunch meetings against a backdrop of global volatility in the Middle East and Ukraine.

UK and NATO allies to include 'money spent on tackling small boats' to boost defence spending in bid to appease Trump

The

Thousands raised after family die in motorway crash - daughter, 8, is only survivor

Kate Shemirani, conspiracy theorist, anti-vaxxer and former nurse

Daughter of notorious conspiracy theorist died of cancer after 'falling for mother's theories', her brothers say

Emma Raducanu during a practice session during Eastbourne Open, where she is currently competing

Raducanu says Wimbledon 'did amazing job' after stalker tried to buy match tickets

Large fire engulfs the abandoned Hotspur Press mill building near Oxford Road in Central Manchester. Credit Milo Chandler/Alamy Live News

Major fire in Manchester city centre causes serious disruption

Notorious criminal John 'Goldfinger' Palmer was murdered at his home in Brentwood in Essex in 2015. His killer has never been found

Who killed John 'Goldfinger' Palmer? Police make fresh appeal 10 years after his death

An RAF flight has left Israel carrying 63 UK nationals and their dependents, as the UK government begins evacuating British citizens from the country amid ongoing attacks between Iran and Israel.

First RAF flight evacuates 63 Britons from Israel as Lammy confirms one UK national injured in Iran missile attacks