HISTORIC racism has contributed to a high number of black and ethnic minority (BAME) people dying from coronavirus, according to a leaked report.

Public Health England’s (PHE) report says that “historic racism and poorer experiences of healthcare or at work” could result in BAME groups being reluctant to seek care or speak up about concerns over a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). 

The leak, revealed by the BBC on Saturday, comes after the publication of a PHE review earlier this month confirming that BAME communities are more at risk from the virus.

The review sparked a backlash for failing to include recommendations or submissions from third-party groups which had pointed to institutional racism as a reason behind the devastating trend. 

At the weekend it emerged that 69 pages of recommendations had been removed from the PHE report.

In a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, British Medical Association chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul demanded answers as to why these sections had “inexplicably” been omitted. 

Today shadow justice secretary David Lammy accused ministers of “burying” information.

“It’s a scandal if one week Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock say Black Lives Matter, and then we find out today that they buried part of the review that had the recommendations in it to do something about it,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr. 

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the public “shouldn’t have to rely on leaks” to know what was going on. 

PHE insists that the recommendations report was carried out “in parallel” to its review published on June 2, and will be published this week. 

The new report contained several recommendations, the BBC said, including enshrining health assessments for BAME workers in law, and giving them better representation in the health service.