Labour MPs pushed for NHS to be labelled ‘institutionally racist’

Labour MPs on two parliamentary committees investigating the coronavirus crisis pushed for an official inquiry to declare that the NHS is “institutionally racist”, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

Dawn Butler and Sarah Owen, who sit on the Science and Technology and Health and Social Care Committees respectively, argued that Parliament’s “lessons learned” inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic should accuse the health service of racism.

The inquiry has heard evidence from witnesses including Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, who criticised the Government’s handling of the crisis.

But other MPs on the committee objected to the accusation of racism being levelled at the NHS, on the grounds that no witness had made that claim in an evidence session.

One MP who was present at a meeting where Ms Butler and Ms Owen pushed for the change said there was a “a genuine jaw-on-the-table moment when they tried to force the issue” and made “a series of assertions without any data or supporting evidence”.

The committees held a meeting on Monday to discuss the evidence and finalise the wording of their report, which is expected to be published imminently.

The Telegraph understands the accusation of institutional racism will not be included after other MPs disagreed with Ms Butler and Ms Owen in private discussions.

The report is wide-ranging, and is expected to include discussion of Mr Johnson’s decision to implement lockdowns in response to the virus, the effectiveness of NHS Test and Trace and the Government’s communications strategy, as well as the effect of the pandemic on BAME communities.

‘Gaslighting on a national scale’

The NHS has faced accusations of racism throughout the pandemic, after data showed ethnic minorities were disproportionately likely to die of coronavirus.

Earlier this year, the Government-appointed Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, led by Tony Sewell, concluded that there was no evidence of institutional racism in Britain, and argued that other factors such as class and religion “have more significant impact on life chances than the existence of racism”.

The report acknowledged that ethnic minorities generally experienced worse health outcomes in Britain, but blamed other factors and called the NHS a “success story” of diversity.

At the time, Ms Butler described the report as “gaslighting on a national scale”. Ms Butler said it denied “well-known truths” about racism in the UK.

Kemi Badenoch, an equalities minister, said that while the report “challenges a number of strongly held beliefs about the extensive influence of racism in Britain today, it had suffered from “wilful misrepresentation” from its critics.

“This government welcomes legitimate disagreements and debate, but firmly rejects bad faith attempts to undermine the credibility of this report,” she said.

A separate Government report into the effects of Covid, published last summer, found that people from black ethnic groups were most likely to be diagnosed with the virus, while death rates were highest among people of black and Asian ethnic groups.

People who self-identified their ethnicity as Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian, Black Caribbean and Other Black all had a higher risk of death compared to people who described themselves as White British.

Vaccine acceptance rates are lowest among black, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani populations compared with people from a white ethnic background, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.

Ms Butler and Ms Owen did not respond to a request for comment.