A senior civil servant has caused controversy as a result of claiming that “systemic racism” is prevalent in Britain as well as endorsing the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in an email that went to hundreds of staff.
Mr Iain Bell is the deputy national statistician at the Office for National Statistics and said in his email that he was learning about “my white privilege and how that looks to others”. As well as this Mr Bell referenced regret that a Census question on ethnicity had reportedly caused offence.
Elsewhere in this email Mr Bell described what he perceives as the role of the ONS of “shining a light on today’s society, too often the collection of… statistics is done with only White People in the virtual room”. The email was signed off with the words “Black Lives Matter!”
This has caused controversy with some stating that the email is against the principle of Civil Service impartiality, others have pointed out that BLM UK, the group behind a fundraising campaign that has raised more than £1 million, supports the dismantling of capitalism.
One staff member has reacted by saying: “The ONS is completely divided and the saga won’t go away. People are in absolute shock that he can stand by the actions of BLM”. One response from an ONS field interviewer, said “the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ with which Iain signs his email is not a politically neutral expression of the anti-racism we all feel in our bones. It is the name of a specific organisation with an explicitly radical agenda”.
The ONS have yet to publicly fully respond but did say last night “Impartiality and independence are fundamental principles of the ONS”.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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