Racism row in UK over aid to ethnic minorities

A racism row has erupted in Britain after the government announced a plan to give extra aid to ethnic minorities, including Indians, amid fears that they will be hardest hit during the economic downturn.

James Purnell, British Work and Pensions Secretary, announced the controversial drive to ensure ethnic minority workers are not 'left behind' in times of recession.

He warned that employment levels amongst ethnic minorities fell by ten percentage points in the 1990s recession, more than other groups.

Purnell, announcing the initiative at the Labour Party's Black Asian and Minority Ethnic annual general meeting in Leicester, said it was vital to ensure the mistakes of previous recessions were not repeated.

"In the past too many were left behind in bad times. Ethnic minority workers suffered most in the Tory recessions," he was quoted as saying by the Mail online on Monday.

However, the Labour government's focus on minorities was flayed by the Conservative party lawmakers, who warned it risked entrenching division. "This is simply outrageous. The government should be targeting support at all who need it," said Philip Davies, a Member of Parliament from Shipley in West Yorkshire.

"The government should be colour blind when it comes to looking who needs help. Doing otherwise will only entrench racism, as far as I'm concerned," the Tory MP was quoted as saying in the report.

The TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group said government should be allocating help on the basis of need instead of playing politics with different ethnic minority groups.

"Lots of people are suffering hard times in the recession. The last thing they need is for the government to play politics with different ethnic minority and gender groups," a spokesman for the campaign group said.

Theresa May, Shadow Work and Pensions secretary, called the plan "typical of Labour's dithering response to the recession". "This is typical of Labour's dithering response to the recession," the Tory leader underlined.

"All James Purnell is promising is quarterly reviews and more reports. The recession is hitting all groups and all parts of the country," May stressed.

According to the report, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will assess the impact of unemployment on ethnic minorities, women, the disabled and older workers and advise ministers on steps to take.

According to Purnell, EHRC chairman Trevor Phillips had agreed to work with the government to assess whether any groups were suffering disproportionately in the recession.

"When we identify particular problems, we will know we need to adapt our policies to make sure that no one is left behind this time," Purnell underlined.