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MacAskill's 'no police racism' claim angers boy's mother

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Published Date: 02 June 2009
JUSTICE secretary Kenny MacAskill came under fire from the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence yesterday after saying there was no racism in the police.
Scots police forces had become more ethnic minority-friendly since an inquiry called them "institutionally racist" a decade ago, he claimed.

Stephen Lawrence, 18, was stabbed to death by a gang of racist youths while waiting at a bus stop in London in 1993.

His killers have never been brought to justice and the subsequent inquiry exposed deep prejudices in the police and other authorities.

New figures show 1.1 per cent of police officers in Scotland declared themselves as black or minority ethnic. That proportion has increased in recent years but there continues to be no ethnic minority officers within senior police ranks.

But Mr MacAskill told the SemperScotland conference that "institutional racism does not exist in the police service in Scotland – of that I'm sure".

Mr Lawrence's mother, Doreen, said Mr MacAskill "must acknowledge" discrimination against ethnic minority communities in the police.

"The minister does not seem to understand that," she said.





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  • Last Updated: 01 June 2009 9:35 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Law and Order
 
1

The Online Scot,

Scotland 01/06/2009 22:38:35
"JUSTICE secretary Kenny MacAskill came under fire from the mother of murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence yesterday after saying there was no racism in the police."

Dear god, this paper has sunk to new depths. I really cannot put into words the disgust I feel.
2

Mercutio,

FALKIRK 02/06/2009 04:14:39
#1 Well stop the futile attempts!
3

Alternative (High-Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 02/06/2009 09:16:03
I'm not saying that MacAskill is right or wrong here, but this does look like yet another case of him opening his mouth and spouting off without thinking properly.

For christs sake Salmond sack him now. He is an embarrassment to Scotland.
4

Americanbob,

02/06/2009 10:10:08
Please Mr. Scotsman editor refer me to the precise report which called any "SCOTTISH police forces "institutionally racist""!
As I recall it that phrase was used in reference to the Metropolitan Police, it made no reference to any other police service anywhere outside of London, it certainly made no reference to any Police force which comes under the remit of the Scottish Justice Secretary, and I very much doubt whether Mrs. Lawrence, with whom I have every sympathy, knows a great deal about the state of racism, or lack of it, in the Scottish police service.
This is the art of bad reporting at its very worst, please try to bring this paperback to what it once was renowned for, good, honest and straightforward reporting of news stories.
5

Anthony,

Glasgow 02/06/2009 12:51:58
The MacPherson report into the Lawrence affair, is now largely discredited. There are several fault lines which run through the report. Perhaps the worst, is that the author did not compare the experience of the Lawrence family at that time, to that of other working class families in the area, whatever their colour. Had he done so, he would have found the treatment though inadequate, was not exceptional, and had occured previously to white families in that police area as well.

It is now a well known secret within much of the public sector, that it is easier to put your hand up to institutional racism, which attaches blame to no individual, than to admit to systemic failure across the board, which could lead to heads rolling at senior levels.

An example? The case several years ago, relating to the death of an Indian waiter, concluded institutional racism in the court service. But it was well known amongst lawyers and court staff, that the same failures were in fact very common, and were not race specific. But again, it was easier just to 'admit' to the institutional racism charge.

The racial grievance industry in this Country is built around this sort of nonsense.
6

Ifan Har,

Scotland 02/06/2009 14:20:52
It has become obvious that the role and function of the police in Britain has for some time now been to harass, oppress and openly surpress any attempt by the indigenous white population to protest against the institutional racism and oppression of the British Government!
7

buzzer,

Aberdeen 02/06/2009 20:17:26
Well done the hootsman still trying to tell us how bad Kenny MacAskill is. How much longer will this tedium last?

2#
3# Dont believe all you read and think about what good the justice secretary has been. More funding into frontline social work. More high risk offenders being rehabilitated. More police on the beat. Tackling the big issue of alcohol abuse.

I dont have any personal relations with the JS but as a social worker things I can tell you things have improved ten fold since the hapless Cathy Jamieson was in charge.
8

Anthony,

Glasgow 03/06/2009 00:17:49
7) I agree he is a massive improvement on Jamieson, who was frankly embarrasing.
9

bluehead,

edinburgh 19/06/2009 07:56:53
Kenny MacAskill was one of the reasons I voted SNP ,he is now the reason I will not be voting SNP again,
before SNP won the election he sounded like the right man for the job,but now everything he does seems to be the only thing not to do,the more I watch what he is doing and what he says,the more bewildered I become,
my opinion of him now is that I would not give him a job shining shoes
there must be someone else who can do the job better than him,so if there is, they had better find that person soon or SNP won't be in power for long

 

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