Lord Woolley, the chair of the government’s race disparity unit’s advisory group, has stated that Britain now has a once in a generation chance to transform racial inequality through a public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic. Tara Pilkington reports.
Downing Street is so far resisting a full statutory inquiry, however Woolley said that the coronavirus pandemic had: “laid bare those elements in our society that are deeply racialised”.
He referenced the number of black, Asian and minority ethnic health and care workers who have died due to the pandemic, as well as highlighting how zero-hours workers, who are more likely to be from ethnic minority backgrounds, are disproportionately exposed to the virus. Additionally, he cited how housing conditions are also a contributing factor which enabled the spread of Covid-19.
In a seminar exploring the prospect of an inquiry, he said: “We have never had a better opportunity in our generation to dig deep and reconstruct and make sure this never happens again,”
He added: “Historians will look back and ask: what was our response [to the pandemic]? We can do nothing, a little, our normal default, or we can do something special.”
