United Nations says UK racism report is 'reprehensible' and 'normalises white supremacy' by 'repackaging racist tropes and stereotypes into fact'

  • UN Working Group of human rights experts condemned UK's racism report, calling review 'reprehensible'
  • Body accused report of effectively whitewashing history of slavery and colonialism, and 'falsified facts'
  • UN said review by commission founded by Boris Johnson 'repackages racist tropes and stereotypes into fact'
  • Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities said UK racial diversity should make country model for others
  • Downing Street rejected the criticism, with PM's spokesman insisting 'we remain proud of UK history' An arm of the United Nations today accused the UK Government's racial disparities commission of trying to 'rationalise' and 'normalise' white supremacy in its 'reprehensible' report on race relations in Britain by 'repackaging racist tropes and stereotypes into fact'.

    Five human rights experts working for the organisation claimed that the controversial report presented by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities on March 31 effectively whitewashed the history of slavery and colonialism, and 'further distorted and falsified historic facts'. 

    The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent condemned its assertion there was no institutional racism in the UK and said the review by educationalist Dr Tony Sewell 'may licence further racism, the promotion of negative racial stereotypes, and racial discrimination'.

    In an extraordinary statement released by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, the Working Group said: 'In 2021, it is stunning to read a report on race and ethnicity that repackages racist tropes and stereotypes into fact, twisting data and misapplying statistics and studies into conclusory findings and ad hominem attacks on people of African descent.' 

    Downing Street rejected the criticism, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman telling reporters: 'Our view is that this report misrepresents the findings. We remain proud of the UK's long history as a human rights champion and we encourage everyone to read the original report in full.' 

    Asked if the review 'normalised white supremacy', the No10 spokesman said 'absolutely not' before adding: 'This report in no way condones racist behaviour and in fact it highlights that racism and inequality are still problems for our country.' Mr Johnson had previously called the report a 'very interesting piece of work' but claimed more needed to be done to address racism.  

    The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, which was set up by the Prime Minister in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer, concluded that though Britain is not yet a 'post-racial society', its success should be a model for white-majority countries. 

    Its chairman Dr Sewell, who was born in Brixton to Jamaican parents of the Windrush generation and founded the Generating Genius charity, said the UK had progressed into a 'successful multi-ethnic and multicultural community' and was a 'beacon to the rest of Europe and the world'.

    However, he was last week forced to insist that he was not denying the existence of racism in the country amid a fierce backlash from Left-wing activists and MPs including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer. 

    Critics called the study a 'whitewash' after it found no conclusive evidence of institutional racism. Instead, the report said factors such as geography, family influence, socio-economic background, culture and religion were found to have more impact on life chances than racism.Thousands of people break lockdown regulations during a Black Lives Matter protest in central London, June 2020

    Thousands of people break lockdown regulations during a Black Lives Matter protest in central London, June 2020 

    Who works on the UN Working Group that criticised the Government's racial relations report? 

    Dominique Day

    Dominique Day

    Dominique Day

    Dominique Day is the chair of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

    A human rights attorney who has focused 'heavily on racial justice, non-discrimination, and human rights advocacy', Day describes herself on Twitter as a 'racial justice accelerator'.  

    Recent tweets show that she regards the War on Drugs as racist and appears to back claims that reparations could have decreased Covid rates in black communities in the US. 

    Ahmed Reid 

    Ahmed Reid

    Ahmed Reid

    Ahmed Reid is an associate professor of Caribbean history the City University of New York. 

    He is the author and co-author of several articles and is the recipient of several prestigious research fellowships, including from Yale University's Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition and the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University. 

    Sabelo Gumedze

    Sabelo Gumedze

    Sabelo Gumedze

    Sabelo Gumedze is the Head and Senior Researcher of the Research and Development Unit of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) of South Africa. 

    He has over 10 years of experience in research with a background in legal scholarship and practice, policy development, International human rights law, human security research, analysis, training, teaching, supervising, project management and implementation.  

    In March 2021 Mr Gumedze endorsed calls by Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders for Cuba to stop intimidation and detention of human rights defenders working for racial justice in the country.

    Michal Balcerzak

    Michal Balcerzak

    Michal Balcerzak

    Michal Balcerzak is a professor of international human rights law at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland. 

    His research areas include international human rights law, protection of national minorities, international judiciary and litigation and diplomatic protocol.  

    In 2019 Mr Balcerzak called on Belgium to acknowledge the crimes of its colonial past 'to tackle the root causes of present-day racism faced by people of African descent' and urged its government to 'adopt a comprehensive national action plan' after the UN 'found  clear evidence that racial discrimination is endemic in institutions in Belgium'. 

    Ricardo A Sunga III 

    Ricardo A Sunga III

    Ricardo A Sunga III

    Ricardo A Sunga III is a tenured Assistant Professor and Chair of Political Law at the De La Salle University College of Law in the Philippines.  

     A member of the Philippine Bar, he has litigated human rights cases for over 24 years before various international and domestic courts and tribunals, such as the United Nations Human Rights Committee and Philippine Supreme Court.

    In 2017 Mr Sunga claimed people of African descent in Germany suffer racial discrimination, Afrophobia and racial profiling in their daily lives, but their situation remains largely invisible to the wider society.

    The UN Working Group said it 'cites dubious evidence to make claims that rationalise white supremacy by using the familiar arguments that have always justified racial hierarchy'.

    The statement said it had received the backing of E Tendayi Achiume, the UN's Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

    The Working Group went on: 'This attempt to normalise white supremacy despite considerable research and evidence of institutional racism is an unfortunate sidestepping of the opportunity to acknowledge the atrocities of the past and the contributions of all in order to move forward.'   

    The experts said the report omitted any recognition or analysis of institutional racism by international human rights experts, including the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent's 2012 review after its country visit to the UK, the 2016 Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance's report following her 2018 country visit to the UK. 

    'Without exception, these reports have highlighted the damaging impact of institutional racism and deep-rooted inequities in areas such as health, education, employment, housing, stop-and-search practices, and the criminal justice system in the UK,' the experts said. 

    'The reality is that People of African descent continue to experience poor economic, social, and health outcomes at vastly disproportionate rates in the UK. 

    'While racial disparities may not always stem from racism or racial discrimination, there is also compelling evidence that the roots of these disparities lie in institutional racism and structural discrimination as they clearly do not reflect the preferences or priorities of the communities facing structural disadvantage.

    'Instead, many racial disparities in the UK clearly reflect specific nodes of power and decision-making by employers, teachers, and others who dictate the opportunities and advantages available to people of African descent. 

    'Too often this decision-making reflects legacy mindsets of racial hierarchy. 

    'In other words, institutional racism, structural invisibility, and longstanding inequalities have disproportionately impacted people of African descent living in the UK.

    'Therefore, the suggestion that family structure, rather than institutionalized and structural discriminatory practices are the central features of the Black experience is a tone-deaf attempt at rejecting the lived realities of people of African descent and other ethnic minorities in the UK.'

    The experts urged London to categorically reject the findings of the report. 

    'We urge the Government to ensure the accurate reflection of historical facts as they relate to past tragedies and atrocities, in particular slavery, the trade in enslaved Africans and colonialism,' the experts said. 

    'The distortion and falsification of these historic facts may license further racism, the promotion of negative racial stereotypes, and racial discrimination.

    Following its publication on March 31, the report was criticised as being divisive, while it was also accused of 'putting a positive spin on slavery and empire'. 

    The Commission has said any suggestion that it would downplay the atrocities of slavery is 'as absurd as it is offensive'.

    In the report's foreword, Dr Sewell said a teaching resource should look at the influence of the UK during its empire period and how 'Britishness influenced the Commonwealth' and how local communities influenced 'modern Britain'.

    He added: '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 remodelled African/Britain.'

    In a statement to MailOnline, the Commission said it is 'disappointed that the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent has grossly misrepresented the report's findings, and appears to be a response to negative press coverage rather than the substance of its content'.

    A spokesperson added:' The misleading claims they have made risk fostering division on the subject of race, rather than constructive discussion on the issues. 

    We urge the UK Government to implement the 24 practical recommendations we have made. These will improve the lives of millions and help deliver a fairer society for all races and ethnicities in the UK.'

    The landmark review found children from many ethnic minorities do as well or better at school than white pupils, which was creating fairer and more diverse workplaces. 

    It called on firms to phase out 'unconscious bias' training because other approaches were needed to 'advance fairness in the workplace'.

    The report warned that Britain is not 'a post-racial society' and that 'overt and outright racism persists in the UK', particularly online. 

    But it said: 'We also have to ask whether a narrative that claims nothing has changed for the better, and that the dominant feature of our society is institutional racism and white privilege will achieve anything beyond alienating the decent centre ground - a centre ground which is occupied by people of all races and ethnicities.'

    A spokesman for the commission said at the time: 'We have not seen conclusive evidence of institutional racism in the areas we have looked at. That is not to dismiss it out of hand, but our report is built on data and evidence. 

    'There is definitely disadvantage, discrimination and there are barriers. That is what our report is about and how to overcome them.'

    Last month, the Duchess of Sussex used a US television interview to make allegations about racism in the Royal Family. And Prince Harry claimed racism from the tabloid press that filtered into the rest of society was a 'large part' of why he and his wife left the UK.

    But the report suggested that the well-meaning 'idealism' of many young people who claim Britain is still institutionally racist was not borne out by the evidence.

    While there remain disparities at the top of the public and private sectors, it is an improving picture and there are increasing levels of diversity in elite professions such as law and medicine.

    The report also noted the pay gap between all ethnic minorities and the white majority population had shrunk to 2.3 per cent. It concluded issues of race and racism were becoming less important and, in some cases, were not a significant factor in explaining disparities. Different outcomes had as much to do with social class and family structure as race, it said.

    The report added: 'We found that most of the disparities we examined, which some attribute to racial discrimination, often do not have their origins in racism.'

    The commission said some minority groups continue to be 'haunted' by 'historic cases' of racism. This creates 'deep mistrust' in the system which could prove a barrier to success. 'Both the reality and the perception of unfairness matter,' the report warned. 

    It concluded that as the differences between ethnic groups were at least as important as the things they shared, the use of the acronym BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) should be stopped. And it called on organisations 'to move away from funding unconscious bias training'.

    Dr Sewell said: 'The report highlights the significance of education as the single most powerful tool in reducing ethnic disparities.

    'Another revelation from our dive into the data was just how stuck some groups from the white majority are.'

    He told ITV's Good Morning Britain programme: 'No one denies that racism exists. In fact in this report we're doing the opposite. We actually think that institutional racism is being used in a way that's wrong. 

    'They use different terms... structural racism, systemic racism. A lot of people don't even know what they're talking about. 

    'They just use it willy-nilly in a way, in a sense that it's not being defined properly. We think it should be deep-seated racism, so we want to protect the term.' 

    Dr Sewell, a former teacher who grew up in Brixton, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the term 'institutional racism' was 'sometimes wrongly applied' as a 'sort of catch-all phrase for micro-aggressions or acts of racial abuse'.

    The ten-person commission also featured Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, space scientist and co-presenter of the BBC's The Sky at Night, and former police superintendent Keith Fraser, chairman of the Youth Justice Board.  

    However, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was 'disappointed' by the findings as he insisted there were structural problems that needed to be addressed. 

    He told reporters on a visit in Leeds: 'I haven't seen the full report yet and, obviously, I'll want to read that. I've seen the briefings out of it and I'm disappointed. 

    Pictured: A Black Live Matter Protest, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, June 9, 2020

    Pictured: A Black Live Matter Protest, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire, June 9, 2020

    'United Nations' previous interventions into Britain's domestic affairs' 

    This is not the first time that the UN has meddled in UK internal affairs. 

    2013: 'Bedroom tax caused people to go hungry to pay their rent'

    Raquel Rolnik

    Raquel Rolnik

    In 2013, Raquel Rolnik, the then Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, condemned Britain's housing policy and called for the abolition of the so-called 'bedroom tax'. Mrs Rolnik's report had claimed that the tax - a housing benefit curb for those with extra rooms who claim a spare room subsidy - meant people were going hungry to pay their rent.  

    Mrs Rolnik said she met 'many people who are increasingly having to choose between food and paying the penalty', grandmothers forced from homes and single parents with no space for their children. 

    The Mail then reported that she had stayed at the Rubens at the Palace Hotel in the shadow of Buckingham Palace during her 12-day mission, put up there by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is supported by UK taxpayers. 

    2019: 'Conditions for the working poor are 'Dickensian'' 

    Philip Alston

    Philip Alston

    The UN accused Britain of violating its human rights obligations by creating 'Dickensian' conditions for the poor. Philip Alston, the UN's then Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, came to the UK in 2018 to draw up a report on government cuts and their impact on the unemployed and low-paid.

    His report claimed the UK had 'a harsh and uncaring ethos' and was guilty of 'increasing marginalisation of the working poor and those unable to work'. He said the Department of Work and Pensions appeared to be 'designing a digital and sanitised version of the 19th Century workhouse, made infamous by Charles Dickens'.

    Mr Alston also warned that Britain could be returning to the state of nature famously described by Thomas Hobbes' in 1668 as 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short'.   

    'On the one hand, there's an acknowledgement of the problems, the issues, the challenges that face many black and minority ethnic communities. But, on the other hand, there's a reluctance to accept that that's structural.'

    Sir Keir said there had been 'report after report' on the issue as he called for action and the creation of a full race equality act. 

    Dr Halima Begum, chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality think tank, said it was 'deeply, deeply worrying' that the commission had denied the existence of institutional racism. 

    She said she felt 'massively let down' by the review and added: 'Institutionally, we are still racist, and for a Government-appointed commission to look into (institutional) racism, to deny its existence is deeply, deeply worrying.'  

    Dr Sewell stressed that 'no one denies that racism exists' but argues Britain is not institutionally racist - a term he believes is deployed too 'willy-nilly'. 

    Amid cries of a 'whitewash', he was branded a Government stooge and compared to Josef Goebbels, Hitler's minister for propaganda, by a Cambridge professor. Dr Priyamvada Gopal initially questioned whether Dr Sewell even had a doctorate.

    After finding out that he possesses one from the University of Nottingham, she tweeted: 'Okay, established. It is, in fact, Dr Sewell. Fair enough. Even Dr Goebbels had a research PhD. (University of Heidelberg, 1921).'  

    Labour MP Clive Lewis even tweeted a picture of the Ku Klux Klan with the caption: 'Move along. Nothing to see here. #RaceReport.' 

    The backlash became so vitriolic that the Commission's members were forced to issue a joint statement railing against the 'dangerous personal attacks'.

    Matthew Ryder QC, lawyer to Stephen Lawrence case and ex-deputy mayor of London, was also critical of the review. 

    He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I'm glad this work's being done, but from what I've seen I'm not optimistic this is going to be a helpful report and there are some glaring things I would mention.

    'The report seems to rely very strongly on access to higher education of being a determination of racial equality. And it relies quite strongly on statistics that suggest working class white boys often have the lowest education attainment. 

    'We've known this for about 10 years so this isn't new, but if you put that statistic in context, it tells you something much more important that isn't mentioned in the report at all. 

    'And that is: even when white working class boys have lower educational qualifications and a lower likelihood of going to university, they have higher employment rates and higher social mobility, and that was highlighted in 2019 by the University of Aberdeen, and they called this the 'white working class paradox'. 

    'If you simply trot out what we've known for 10 years about access to education and say 'that shows racism has been solved', it doesn't show what the problem is.'

    This is not the first time that the UN has meddled in UK internal affairs. In 2013, Raquel Rolnik, the then Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, condemned Britain's housing policy and called for the abolition of the so-called 'bedroom tax'.

    Mrs Rolnik's report had claimed that the tax - a housing benefit curb for those with extra rooms who claim a spare room subsidy - meant people were going hungry to pay their rent. 

    It criticised the Government for encouraging home ownership and called for rent controls, security for renters, and new social housing.

    Mrs Rolnik said she met 'many people who are increasingly having to choose between food and paying the penalty', grandmothers forced from homes and single parents with no space for their children. 

    The Mail then reported that she had stayed at the Rubens at the Palace Hotel in the shadow of Buckingham Palace during her 12-day mission, put up there by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which is supported by UK taxpayers. 

    The UN also accused Britain of violating its human rights obligations by creating 'Dickensian' conditions for the poor when Philip Alston, the then Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, came to the UK in 2018 to draw up a report on government cuts and their impact on the unemployed and low-paid.

    His report, released in May 2019, claimed that Britain had 'a harsh and uncaring ethos' and was guilty of 'increasing marginalisation of the working poor and those unable to work'. 

    He added that the Department of Work and Pensions appeared to be 'designing a digital and sanitised version of the 19th Century workhouse, made infamous by Charles Dickens'.  

    So who are the distinguished panel of experts who produced landmark race report and now stand accused of 'ignoring realities of racism in Britain'? 

    Champion of underdogs

    Dr Tony Sewell CBE, 62

    No one is better qualified to speak on education and the black community than Sewell. Born in Brixton in 1959 to Jamaican parents of the Windrush generation, he studied English literature at Essex University before becoming a teacher in some of London's toughest secondary schools.

    He was part of the team which opened Mossbourne Community Academy in 2004 on the site of Hackney Downs School, which was described as the 'worst school in Britain'. 

    In 2011/12 Mossbourne achieved the distinction of getting seven per cent of its leavers into Oxford or Cambridge universities.

    No one is better qualified to speak on education and the black community than Dr Tony Sewell

    No one is better qualified to speak on education and the black community than Dr Tony Sewell

    Sewell went on to found Generating Genius, a charity which helps children from minority ethnic backgrounds study and follow careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.

    Police gangs reformer

    Keith Fraser, 54

    The former police superintendent and chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of racism.

    Born to Jamaican parents — a bus driver and a secretary — in Birmingham in the 1960s, he has recalled being stopped and searched frequently as a teenager.

    He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1985 aged 18, but was still stopped by fellow officers when driving off-duty.

    Keith Fraser, 54, the former police superintendent and chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of racism

    Keith Fraser, 54, the former police superintendent and chair of the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales, knows what it is like to be on the receiving end of racism

    Over his 32 years of police service, Fraser rose to become a Superintendent in the West Midlands force, before becoming the first black chairman of the Youth Justice Board and chairman of Employability UK.

    He developed West Midlands Police strategy on deterring young people from joining gangs.

    Muslim campaigner

    Aftab Chughtai MBE, 62

    Unlike many academics who pontificate on racial issues, Chughtai has experience of running a business in the heart of one of Britain's most ethnically diverse cities.

    Born to Kashmiri parents, Chughtai took over running the family's babywear shop in Birmingham, and now sits on the board of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce. 

    He is also chair of the West Midlands Police Independent Advisory Group, a trustee of Washwood Heath Multi Academy Trust, and was a co-founder of the campaign group Muslims for Britain, which engages with British Muslims on key national issues.

    Unlike many academics who pontificate on racial issues, Aftab Chughtai MBE, 62, has experience of running a business in the heart of one of Britain’s most ethnically diverse cities

    Unlike many academics who pontificate on racial issues, Aftab Chughtai MBE, 62, has experience of running a business in the heart of one of Britain's most ethnically diverse cities

    In 2017, he was appointed to the Grenfell Tower taskforce, charged with scrutinising Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council's efforts to help the community recover from the tragedy.

    Kenya-born researcher

    Mercy Muroki, 25

    Born in Kenya, Muroki attended a school with no electricity and a pit latrine for a toilet. Aged five, she arrived in West London with her parents and sister.

    Shortly after, her parents split — and her mother and the two children were homeless for a period. 

    Muroki became a mother herself, aged 18, but went on to read politics at Queen Mary University of London and study for a MSc at Oxford, where she won several academic prizes.

    Born in Kenya, Mercy Muroki, 25, attended a school with no electricity and a pit latrine for a toilet. Aged five, she arrived in West London with her parents and sister

    Born in Kenya, Mercy Muroki, 25, attended a school with no electricity and a pit latrine for a toilet. Aged five, she arrived in West London with her parents and sister

    She became a senior researcher at the Centre for Social Justice, and is also a national newspaper columnist.

    Race equality leader

    Dr Samir Shah CBE, 78

    Born in India, Dr Shah came to England in 1960 and attended Latymer Upper School in West London, before reading geography and maths at the University of Hull. He has a DPhil from St Catherine's College, Oxford.

    He began his career at London Weekend Television in 1979, before moving to the BBC, where he held senior positions overseeing political journalism.

    Now CEO of his own TV and radio production company, Dr Shah was awarded a CBE in 2019 for services to Television and Heritage.

    Born in India, Dr Samir Shah CBE, 78, came to England in 1960 and attended Latymer Upper School in West London, before reading geography and maths at the University of Hull. He has a DPhil from St Catherine’s College, Oxford

    Born in India, Dr Samir Shah CBE, 78, came to England in 1960 and attended Latymer Upper School in West London, before reading geography and maths at the University of Hull. He has a DPhil from St Catherine's College, Oxford

    He has served as chair of the V&A and as a visiting professor of creative media at Oxford University. 

    He is also member of the Nuffield Foundation Steering Group, working on reviews into inequality. 

    He was chairman of the race equality think-tank the Runnymede Trust — which said yesterday it felt 'let down' by yesterday's report — for two decades and has been a member of the Holocaust Commission.

    Peerless surgeon

    Lord Kakkar, 56

    Ajay Kakkar is a prime example of the success many families of Indian origin have enjoyed in supposedly racist Britain.

    He followed his father into medicine, studying at King's College, London, followed by a PhD at Imperial College. He is now Professor of Surgery at University College, London.

    He is the director of the Thrombosis Research Institute, and has worked with the NHS on its strategy to prevent dangerous blood clotting.

    Lord Kakkar, 56, is a prime example of the success many families of Indian origin have enjoyed in supposedly racist Britain

    Lord Kakkar, 56, is a prime example of the success many families of Indian origin have enjoyed in supposedly racist Britain

    He was made a life peer in 2010 before being appointed as a member of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in 2014. He serves as Chair of the Judicial Appointments Commission.

    Lord Kakkar chairs medical research charity the King's Fund, sits as a school governor and is also a commissioner of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.

    TV space scientist

    Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE, 53

    Born and brought up in London, Aderin-Pocock moved between 13 schools, struggling with dyslexia, to eventually win a place to read physics at Imperial College London.

    She completed a PhD in mechanical engineering, in the course of which she developed a novel instrument to measure materials just microns thick — a device which was later marketed commercially by the university.

    Born and brought up in London, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE, 53, moved between 13 schools, struggling with dyslexia, to eventually win a place at Imperial College London

    Born and brought up in London, Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE, 53, moved between 13 schools, struggling with dyslexia, to eventually win a place at Imperial College London

    Now a distinguished space scientist, she has presented the BBC's Sky At Night for the past eight years. 

    Much of her time is devoted to inspiring new generations of astronauts, engineers and scientists, and visiting inner-city schools to tell their students how she became a scientist — busting myths about careers, class and gender in the process.

    School Governance Expert

    Naureen Khalid, 59

    From a British Pakistani background, Khalid achieved a Masters in Genetics at Karachi University, and later a MPhil at the University of East Anglia. 

    She is now an educational specialist who has sat for more than a decade on the governing boards of several schools and academies. 

    She also serves as an expert for National Online Safety, an organisation which helps to protect children online by providing safety training to schools.

    From a British Pakistani background, Naureen Khalid, 59, achieved a Masters in Genetics at Karachi University, and later a MPhil at the University of East Anglia

    From a British Pakistani background, Naureen Khalid, 59, achieved a Masters in Genetics at Karachi University, and later a MPhil at the University of East Anglia

    She presents at education events, and has co-founded a national forum which helps support school governors and provides them with a space to exchange ideas and experiences.

    Globally feted academic

    Dambisa Moyo, 52

    Moyo was born in Lusaka, Zambia, but spent some of her childhood in the U.S. She took a chemistry degree at the University of Zambia, followed by a DPhil in economics at Oxford University and a Masters in Public Administration at Harvard.

    She worked at Goldman Sachs as a research economist for seven years, advising developing countries on international finances, and served as head of Economic Research and Strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa. 

    Moyo has sat on the boards of brewing company SABMiller, Barclays Bank, Barrick Gold and U.S. oil giant Chevron.

    Dambisa Moyo, 52, was born in Lusaka, Zambia, but spent some of her childhood in the U.S. She took a chemistry degree at the University of Zambia, followed by a DPhil in economics at Oxford University and a Masters in Public Administration at Harvard

    Dambisa Moyo, 52, was born in Lusaka, Zambia, but spent some of her childhood in the U.S. She took a chemistry degree at the University of Zambia, followed by a DPhil in economics at Oxford University and a Masters in Public Administration at Harvard

    She has published many books, with her 2009 work Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working And How There Is A Better Way For Africa, becoming a bestseller — while upsetting those on the Left who believe that ever-increasing quantities of aid is the best way to help the developing world.

    In 2009 she was named as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, and one of Time magazine's top 100 most influential people in the world.

    Schools stalwart

    Martyn Oliver, 49

    The only white member of the commission, Oliver started teaching in 1995 and went on to become chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, which oversees 34 academies in the North, many of which were failing schools when the trust took them over.

    The only white member of the commission, Martyn Oliver, 49, started teaching in 1995 and went on to become chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust

    The only white member of the commission, Martyn Oliver, 49, started teaching in 1995 and went on to become chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust

    Oliver serves as a board member of the Department for Education's Opportunity North-East, which aims to improve results in secondary schools in that region.

    Co-opted members

    Kunle Olulode, 59

    Olulode, is a former trade union activist on Camden Council who led the 500-strong Camden black workers' staff group. 

    He has also served as a board member of English Heritage and is director of Voice4Change, which represents charities working with ethnic minorities.

    Blondel Cluff, 60Cluff's parents arrived in Britain from Anguilla with the Windrush generation. A lawyer and former head of legal at Lazard Brothers (a financial and asset management firm), Cluff is a fellow of King's College London, and has also served as a diplomat. 

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