Racism contributed to disproportionate UK BAME coronavirus deaths, inquiry finds
Racism contributed to disproportionate UK BAME coronavirus deaths, inquiry finds
Racism and discrimination suffered by Britain’s black, Asian and minority ethnic people has contributed to the high death rates from Covid-19 in those communities, an official inquiry has found.
The conclusion is contained in a section of a government-commissioned report that ministers have refused to publish, apparently for fear of stoking tensions around race and racism after protests in response to George Floyd’s killing by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Sky News has obtained a previously unpublished section of the review of the disease’s disproportionate impact on BAME people, which was undertaken by Public Health England (PHE).
It says that: “Stakeholders pointed to racism and discrimination experienced by communities and more specifically BAME key workers as a root cause to exposure risk and disease progression.”
It continues: “Racism and discrimination experienced by BAME key workers [is] a root cause affecting health and exposure risk. For BAME communities, lack of trust of NHS services resulted in reluctance to seek care.”
The document helped to inform the main report, which PHE published on 2 June. The emergence of the new document comes after the Department of Health and Social Care and PHE both responded to claims of censorship by insisting that the report had been published in full.
The extra part of the evidence review summarises testimony received by PHE’s Prof Kevin Fenton, the report’s author, from about 4,000 stakeholders, including BAME groups and academics.
It also says: “It is clear from discussions with stakeholders the pandemic exposed and exacerbated longstanding inequalities affecting BAME communities in the UK.”