Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Boris Johnson's Most Senior Black Adviser Quits Amid Race Report Outcry

Boris Johnson's Most Senior Black Adviser Quits Amid Race Report Outcry

Samuel Kasumu will leave his post as Downing Street special adviser for civil society and communities in May, a Number 10 spokesperson said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's most senior black adviser has quit, Downing Street said Thursday, a day after a government-commissioned report provoked outrage by saying that structural racism does not exist in Britain.

Samuel Kasumu had been talked out of resigning by ministers in February, after he complained of "unbearable" tension within Downing Street and said Johnson's Conservative Party was pursuing "a politics steeped in division", the BBC reported at the time.

Kasumu, who served as special adviser for civil society and communities, submitted his resignation last week and informed colleagues on Wednesday morning, according to Politico, just as the controversial report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) was released.

A government spokesperson confirmed Kasumu would step down in May, but said it was already planned and insisted: "Any suggestion that this decision has been made this week or that this is linked to the CRED report is completely inaccurate."

Johnson -- whose government is stepping up an offensive on so-called woke activism ahead of May elections -- told reporters that Kasumu had "done some great stuff" on encouraging more people from ethnic minorities to take up vaccinations against Covid-19.

The pandemic's disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities was among the areas downplayed in the new government report, which said that while prejudice persists in Britain, the country is not "institutionally racist".

The prime minister said the report contained "some original and stimulating work" and that it would help inform policy about "the true nature of the barriers and the discrimination that they (minorities) unquestionably feel".

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

Glorifying slavery?


The commission was created by Johnson following last year's Black Lives Matter protests, which included the toppling of an English slave trader's statue in the western city of Bristol.

Its members, led by a black chair who had previously sided with the government against anti-racism campaigners, concluded many of Britain's young BLM demonstrators were misguided.

The country could be regarded "as a model for other white-majority countries", the 264-page report said.

It made 24 recommendations, notably on building trust between police and minority groups, on extending the school day in deprived areas, and on tackling racist abuse on social media platforms.

"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," it added.

The report was met with incredulity by many campaigners for racial equality and opposition lawmakers, who noted wide disparities in the experience of British minorities in policing, health, education and employment.

The assertion about slavery drew particular scorn.

"The only good narrative about the enslavement of Africans is that we survived," Simon Woolley, the former head of Downing Street's race disparity unit, told The Times newspaper.

Marsha de Cordova, equalities spokeswoman for the opposition Labour party, said Kasumu's exit spoke volumes despite the government's denials that it was linked to the report.

"Their divisive report appears to glorify slavery and suggests that institutional racism does not exist despite the evidence to the contrary," she said.

"It is no wonder they are losing the expertise from their team."

Commission chair Tony Sewell said the suggestion that his report had tried to downplay the evils of slavery was "ridiculous and offensive".

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
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
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
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
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
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
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×