PM's ethnic minority adviser Samuel Kasumu quits role

Samuel Kasumu

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's senior adviser on ethnic minorities is to stand down, it has emerged.

Samuel Kasumu will leave the role next month. He had previously handed in his resignation in February, before retracting it.

Downing Street sources rejected suggestions his departure was linked to the findings of a government-commissioned report on race.

The report, which faced criticism from campaigners, came out on Wednesday.

The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities - set up last year after Black Lives Matter protests - claimed the UK "no longer" had a system rigged against minorities.

But racial equality campaigners criticised the findings and Labour accused the government of downplaying institutional racism.

• PM's minority adviser: Tories 'steeped in division'
• Campaigners criticise government race report

When he first handed in his resignation in February, Mr Kasumu accused the Conservatives of pursuing a "politics steeped in division".

In the letter, Mr Kasumu, an entrepreneur who has worked for the government since 2019, said he wanted to step down as an adviser by May.

But he retracted his letter after talks with vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi.

It has been reported Mr Kasumu told Downing Street officials of his decision to quit last week. There has been no official comment from Downing Street.

Former equality and human rights commissioner Lord Simon Woolley, who knows Mr Kasumu, said he had been "disheartened" with his role at No 10.

The crossbench peer, who has criticised the commission's findings, told BBC News there is a "crisis at No 10 when it comes to acknowledging and dealing with persistent race inequality".

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April 01, 2021 at 08:29PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56601166