Euros racism sign of how Government has failed to show leadership

Liberty has responded to the racist abuse aimed at England footballers after the UEFA European Football Championship on Sunday, and has called on the Government to show leadership on anti-racism.

Sam Grant, Liberty head of policy and campaigns, said:

“Events this week have shown how far the UK has to go on anti-racism – and how desperately strong leadership is needed.

“Last summer we saw people come together at the Black Lives Matter protests to demand justice and stand up against racism. But this Government responded by labelling protestors as “dreadful” and then proposing legislation – the policing bill –  that attempts to quash protests while expanding discriminatory powers including stop and search. The Sewell report, the Government’s official answer to the urgent calls from Black Lives Matter protestors, was a further insult in its outright denial of the existence of structural racism. This Government is also complicit in violating the rights of racial minorities through the hostile environment, Prevent and prison camps for refugees.

“The legacy of the Black Lives Matter protests and the mass mobilisations around the policing bill mean we have a lot to be hopeful about. The bravery that Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Bukayo Saka and Tyrone Mings have shown over the past few days should give us further hope. They are demonstrating what true unifying leadership looks like, something that is sadly lacking from those currently in power.”