London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

Black Lives Matter protesters call for race inequality commission head to quit

Anti-racism protesters in London have said the head of the Government’s new Race Inequality Commission Munira Mirza must quit her post.
Today thousands of activists marched from Hyde Park, to Parliament Square and then down Whitehall to Trafalgar Square calling. Up to 14 police vans were on hand as Scotland Yard warned previous tallies had been marred by a ‘small minority intent on violence’.

But the protests appeared good-natured, with no signs of opposing far-right counter-demonstrators like the previous weekend. One of the chants at today’s rally was ‘Munira Mirza must go’.

Boris Johnson’s decision to appoint Ms Mirza to lead his new commission on race disparity has been met with dismay by many equality campaigners and think tanks.

She has been criticised heavily for describing structural racism as ‘more of a perception than reality’ and for saying the anti-racism movement has fostered a ‘culture of grievance’.

In a rousing speech at today’s protest in the capital, organiser Imarn Ayton said: ‘We are all here today because we know that black lives matter, we are all here today because we know that black is beautiful.

‘And we are all here today because we know that it is time to burn down institutional racism. Boris Johnson has responded to our cry, Boris Johnson has heard our cry and he has responded with a new race inequality commission.

‘We appreciate a response, we like a response but we know that a grave mistake has been made, a catastrophic mistake has been made.

Boris Johnson has appointed a lady called Munira Mirza to head up our race inequality commission. This is a woman who does not believe in institutional racism – she has argued it is more of a perception than a reality.”

‘(Munira Mirza) does not believe in what we believe in, she’s not in line with what we believe in. So let me tell you right now, so here to make sure that everyone knows this today.’

She led the crowd in chanting ‘Munira Mirza must go’ and ‘institutional racism is a reality not a perception’.

Ms Ayton also called for the implementation of the recommendations made by David Lammy’s review into outcomes for black and minority ethnic people in the criminal justice system.

It is thought Mirza wants to appoint former Equalities and Human Rights Commission head Trevor Phillips, who was previously criticised for saying UK Muslims were a ‘nation within a nation’.

Responding to the PM’s appointment the Institute of Race Relations think tank said: ‘Any enquiry into inequality has to acknowledge structural and systemic factors. Munira Mirza’s previous comments describe a “grievance culture” within the anti-racist field and she has previously argued that institutional racism is ‘a perception more than a reality.

‘It is difficult to have any confidence in policy recommendations from someone who denies the existence of the very structures that produce the social inequalities experienced by black communities.’
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
×