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Blair's black culture remarks rankle |
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Thursday, 12 April 2007 |
Black community leaders have strongly criticized British Prime Minister Tony
Blair for his blaming of a spate of murders on black culture.
Tony Blair has claimed the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not
being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture.
Blair said the recent violence should not be treated as part of a general crime
wave, but as specific to black youth, adding that people had to drop their
political correctness and recognize that the violence would not be stopped "by
pretending it is not young black kids doing it".
Mr Blair said there needed to be an "intense police focus" on the minority of
young black Britons behind the gun and knife attacks.
His remarks angered community leaders, who accused him of ignorance and failing
to provide support for black-led efforts to tackle the problem.
Chair of the National Black Police Association Keith Jarrett, whose members work
with vulnerable youngsters, said: "Social deprivation and delinquency go hand in
hand and we need to tackle both. It is curious that the prime minister does not
mention deprivation in his speech."
Lee Jasper, adviser on policing to London's mayor, said: "For years we have said
this is an issue the black community has to deal with. The PM is spectacularly
ill-informed if he thinks otherwise".
However, the Commission for Racial Equality broadly backed Mr Blair, saying
people "shouldn't be afraid to talk about this issue for fear of sounding
prejudiced".
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