Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Samuel Kasumu: PM's adviser quits amid row over race report

Samuel Kasumu: PM's adviser quits amid row over race report

Boris Johnson's senior adviser on ethnic minorities is to stand down, amid a row over a government-commissioned report on race.

Samuel Kasumu has worked for the government since 2019

Samuel Kasumu is known to have been unhappy with the government's stance on racial issues.

He has not commented on the report, which said the UK "no longer" had a system rigged against minorities.

The PM said the report was "original and stimulating" but he did not agree with "absolutely everything" in it.

Equality campaigners have criticised it for downplaying the extent of racism in British society and institutions.

Former equality and human rights commissioner Lord Simon Woolley said there was a "crisis at No 10 when it comes to acknowledging and dealing with persistent race inequality".

Labour's shadow equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova called the report "divisive," adding it was "no wonder" the government was "losing the expertise from their team".

"To have your most senior advisor on ethnic minorities quit as you publish a so-called landmark report on race in the UK is telling of how far removed the Tories are from the everyday lived experiences of Black, Asian and ethnic minority people," she added.

A Downing Street spokesman insisted Mr Kasumu had been planning "for several months" to leave government in May.

"Any suggestion that this decision has been made this week or that this is linked to the [commission's] report is completely inaccurate," he added.


Samuel Kasumu may not be a name you're familiar with; even one minister awkwardly said they'd never heard of him this morning.

But his resignation is a difficult moment for the government on the sensitive, divisive topic of race.

Downing street has denied any suggestion his departure is linked to Wednesday's report.

Without Samuel Kasumu's version of events, it's hard to know why and when he chose to resign - having changed his mind about quitting earlier in the year.

But his departure leaves questions about the confidence some in government, let alone the public, have about the prime minister's approach to tackling racial inequality.

Last year Boris Johnson said he wanted to "change the narrative" on this subject - but this is unlikely to be what he had in mind.

Mr Johnson said he had "worked closely" with Mr Kasumu - who will leave his role next month - and he had "done some great stuff and I thank him very much".

The adviser had previously handed in a resignation letter in February, accusing the Conservatives of a "politics steeped in division".

He had asked to keep working on a project to combat disinformation on Covid vaccines, with "the view to leaving at the end of May".

But Mr Kasumu went on to retract this letter, following talks with vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi.

Mr Kasumu has declined to comment, but sources told the BBC there has been an "awkward silence" hanging over Downing Street, with little discussion or movement since he first threatened to resign.

'Structural racism' row


The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) was launched last summer in the wake of anti-racism Black Lives Matter protests last summer.

In its report published on Wednesday, it concluded the UK was not yet a "post-racial country," but family structure and social class had a bigger impact than race on people's life chances.

It argued that racial discrimination has often been misapplied to "account for every observed disparity" between ethnic groups.

And it said references to racism in the UK being "institutional" or "structural" had sometimes been used without sufficient evidence.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, a member of the commission, said the report was not denying institutional racism existed, but said they had not discovered evidence of it in the areas they had looked.

The commission made 24 recommendations, including urging more research into school performance and for organisations to ditch unconscious bias training.

The report was commissioned in the aftermath of Black Lives Matter protests in the UK

Speaking on Thursday, Mr Johnson said the commission had suggested several "interesting ideas" and the government would respond in "due course".

"I don't say the government is going to agree with absolutely everything in it, but it has some original and stimulating work in it that I think people need to read and to consider," Mr Johnson added.

"There are very serious issues that our society faces to do with racism that we need to address.

"We've got to do more to fix it, we need to understand the severity of the problem, and we're going to be looking at all the ideas that they have put forward".

Slavery comments criticism


The commission's chairman Tony Sewell, an education consultant and ex-charity boss, has meanwhile defended himself from criticism over comments he made in the report about how the British Empire should be taught in schools.

In his foreword to the report, he wrote: "There is a new story about the Caribbean experience which speaks to the slave period not only being about profit and suffering but how culturally African people transformed themselves into a re-modelled African/Britain".

Halima Begum, chief executive of race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, said his comments were "out of kilter with where British society is" - and Labour's Ms de Cordova accused him of "putting a positive spin on slavery".

But in a statement on Thursday, Dr Sewell said it was "absurd to suggest that the commission is trying to downplay the evil of the slave trade".

"The report merely says that, in the face of the inhumanity of slavery, African people preserved their humanity and culture," he added.


Boris Johnson: The government "won't agree with every word" in report


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×