THE government must not wait any longer to address “systemic racial injustices” laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic, Labour demanded yesterday. 

A review by Public Health England (PHE) confirmed earlier this week that black people and ethnic minorities (BAME) are more likely to die from the virus.

However the report sparked widespread criticism for failing to provide any recommendations and omitting submissions which highlighted the effect of structural racism and inequality on mortality rates.

In an urgent question yesterday, shadow women and equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova demanded to know why recommendations were not made, despite its terms of reference promising to do so. 

“The government must not wait any longer to address underlying racial and socio-economic injustices, so that no more lives are lost,” she said. 

During its inquiry, PHE received submissions from engagements with over 1,000 people – but none of these was included in the final publication. 

The Muslim Council of Great Britain, which submitted evidence, said: “To choose not to discuss the overwhelming role structural racism and inequality has on mortality rates and to disregard the evidence compiled by community organisations, whilst simultaneously providing no recommendations or an action plan, despite this being the central purpose of the review, is entirely unacceptable.

“It beggars belief that a review asking why BAME communities are more at risk fails to give even a single answer.”

In the Commons, Labour MP Gill Furniss demanded that the review be published in full. “There is no more important time to tackle racial injustice in our society to save lives during this crisis,” she said.

“It is now up to the government to take action and show its commitment that black lives matter.”

As protests spread across the world in response to the police killing of George Floyd in the US, the spotlight is increasingly being turned on racism in Britain and its potential role in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities. 

However, Equalities Secretary Kemi Badenoch rejected claims that “systemic injustice” was to blame for higher death rates among BAME communities, claiming that Britain is “one of the best countries in the world to be a black person.” 

She said the Cabinet Office’s race disparity unit was working on recommendations, claiming that PHE “did not have all the data that it needed,” including population density and housing conditions, to propose them itself. 

The SNP's Alison Thewliss charged that Britain’s immigration system puts BAME migrants at greater risk from the disease, with those who have no recourse to public funds “forced” to continue working.

In response to the review, International Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which largely represents BAME and migrant workers, said it feared the government would fail to address the role of precarious work in the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME people. 

BAME workers are overwhelmingly represented in low-paid and precarious sectors, meaning they are more likely to have continued working through the lock down to avoid destitution, it said. 

The union also announced yesterday that it is seeking to intervene in a legal challenge brought by multimillionaire Simon Dolan to end the lockdown prematurely. 

Mr Dolan, who lives in Monaco, filed a High Court challenge last month against England’s coronavirus lockdown rules, branding them “some of the most extreme restrictions imposed on fundamental freedoms in the modern era.” 

Black Lives Matter UK called for nationwide doorstep protests yesterday at 7pm – in reference to the “clap for carers” slot – to demand an investigation into the root causes health disparities. 

The protest, in which people were asked to play Jimmy Cliff’s “The Harder they Come,” was co-organised by Race and Health. 

Protest organiser and lecturer in Global Health at UCL Dr Rochelle Burgess said: “The findings of the PHE report are not really a surprise to anyone who is a person of colour in this country, or the world.

“It is painfully clear that none of this data will change without action at an individual level and structural change.

“Our governments need to do both, and they need to do it now.”