London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Boris says UK is less racist than it used to be but there's much more to be done

The Prime Minister told his Cabinet there is ‘so much more to do in eradicating prejudice and creating opportunity’ during a discussion on the Black Lives Matter protests today, Downing Street has said.

Acknowledging that the PM’s top team did not observe a minute’s silence for George Floyd, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman explained: ‘The PM began Cabinet by discussing the anger and the grief that is not just felt in the US but around the world, including the UK, following the death of George Floyd.

‘He said those who lead and govern simply cannot ignore the depth of emotion that has been triggered. The PM said there was an undeniable feeling of injustice and that people from black and minority ethnic groups do face discrimination in education, in employment and in the application of criminal law.’

The prime minister, who is no stranger to controversy around racism, claimed this week that the UK is ‘not a racist country’, following the backlash surrounding the incident in Minneapolis. Mr Floyd, a black man, was knelt on by a white police officer for more than eight minutes and among his last words were ‘I can’t breathe’. The incident has sparked a global uprising against racism and has seen protesters clash with police in London and the statue of a slave trader torn down in Bristol.

The spokesman said the Cabinet did not participate in the minute’s silence in Parliament today and continued: ‘The PM said we’re a much, much less racist society than we were but we must also frankly acknowledge that there’s so much more to do in eradicating prejudice and creating opportunity.’

According to Number 10, the PM also reiterated his strong words for those who break social distancing or attack public property or police, saying they ‘will face the full force of the law’.

Mr Johnson last night tweeted a video of his thoughts on the protests, in which he urged people to ‘work peacefully and lawfully to defeat racism and discrimination wherever we find it’.

Those comments provoked The Voice, ‘Britain’s leading black newspaper’, to retweet criticism of the PM for his previous conduct on race-related issues.

He has been attacked for previously writing about ‘flag-waving piccaninnies’ and describing African people as having ‘watermelon smiles’, among other things. Mr Johnson has argued some of the controversial comments were ‘wholly satirical’.

Mr Johnson also previously dismissed the former US president Barack Obama’s views on the EU because he is ‘part-Kenyan’ and therefore had an ‘ancestral dislike of the British empire’.

This week the PM condemned some protesters for ‘subverting’ the cause with ‘thuggery’, in comments echoed by the Home Secretary, Priti Patel.

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who is British Asian, struck a different tone, suggesting that racism ‘of course’ exists in the country.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×