BORIS JOHNSON has said BAME groups "paid a disproportionate price" during the pandemic as he acknowledged that the raging emotions triggered by the death of George Floyd in the US could not be ignored.
The custodial killing of the unarmed African American sparked demonstrations around the world over police brutality. More than 100,000 people took part in anti-racism protests around Britain over the weekend.
"In this country and around the world his [Floyd's] dying words – I can’t breathe – have awakened an anger and a widespread and incontrovertible, undeniable feeling of injustice, a feeling that people from black and minority ethnic groups do face discrimination: in education, in employment, in the application of the criminal law," Johnson said in a video statement posted on Twitter on Monday (8).
"We who lead and who govern simply can't ignore those feelings because in too many cases, I am afraid, they will be founded on a cold reality."
The prime minister said he was "proud to lead the most ethnically diverse government in the history of this country", highlighting that "two of the four great offices of state held by a man and a woman of Indian origin".
He added that Britain had made "huge strides" in tackling racism but it must also "frankly acknowledge that there is so much more to do – in eradicating prejudice, and creating opportunity".
Johnson also highlighted the fact that the BAME community was disproportionately hit by the pandemic.
"It is BAME communities who have been at the forefront of the struggle against coronavirus – whether in health care or transport or social care or any of the other essential services that have kept our country going," he said.
"And it is BAME communities, tragically, that have paid a disproportionate price."
Johnson acknowledged the emotional upheaval driving the Black Lives Matter protests, but said he could not ignore the public health hazards they pose.
"And so I say yes, you are right, we are all right, to say Black Lives Matter; and to all those who have chosen to protest peacefully and who have insisted on social distancing – I say, yes of course I hear you, and I understand," he said.
"I must also say that we are in a time of national trial, when for months this whole country has come together to fight a deadly plague.
"After such sacrifice, we cannot now let it get out of control."
Over the weekend, demonstrators had defied warnings not to gather in large groups due to the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Otherwise peaceful demonstrations in London had ended with small groups clashing with police. Dozens of police officers were injured and more than 100 people were arrested.
A statue of Winston Churchill on Parliament Square in London was defaced with a graffiti reading "was a racist", and, in Bristol, protesters toppled a statue of 17th Century slave trader Edward Colston.
"I will not support those who flout the rules on social distancing... I will not support or indulge those who break the law or attack the police or desecrate public monuments," Johnson said.
He warned those who attacked public property or the police would "face the full force of the law".
"They are hijacking a peaceful protest and undermining it in the eyes of many who might otherwise be sympathetic. And as a society, we can and must do better."
Posting the video on Twitter, Johnson urged people to "work peacefully and lawfully to defeat racism and discrimination" and "continue to work together as we put Britain back on its feet".
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