UK is the best place in Europe for black people to live: Trevor Phillips

22 June 2020, 12:42

Trevor Phillips: UK is best place in Europe for black people to live

The former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission has told LBC that the UK is the best place in Europe for black people to live in.

Today is Windrush Day, marking 72 years since hundreds of people arrived in the UK on a ship from Jamaica to help re-build the UK following the war.

Trevor Phillips was speaking to Nick Ferrari about the day and insisted that, outside of the political reaction, the UK has been a hospitable place for black people.

Mr Phillips said: "Without ignoring the behaviour of governments, the truth is that this country has been a pretty good country for People of Colour.

"This is the best country, certainly in Europe, for a black person to live in.

"Anybody who doesn't believe that only has to go and spend a week in France or Russia or Germany or even the Netherlands to understand why you would come straight back home here.

"The people of Britain have been warm and embracing."

Mr Phillips pointed out the large number of mixed-race people in Britain backs him up.

He added: "When we talked about black people 25 years ago, we were talking about people like me - two black parents from the Caribbean. Today, the majority of black people in this country have come from Africa, so you don't hear names like Phillips, you hear names like Adebayo.

"Within five-six years, more than half of people of Caribbean descent in this country will have a white parent.

"The reason I raise that is that it's never happened anywhere else. So we are a very unique country."