Responding to the publication of Public Health England’s review on BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) COVID-19 deaths, Kate Allen, Amnesty International’s UK Director, said:

“This painfully inadequate review is proof that once again the Government is failing BAME people.

“The lack of a Government plan to actually tackle these deeply-worrying racial disparities is a glaring and unforgivable omission in the review.

“It’s not good enough for ministers to merely pay lip-service to Black Lives Matter - they need to bring this burningly-urgent fact to life with positive, far-reaching actions.

“The coronavirus pandemic has again exposed the myth of equality among all communities in our country, and after Windrush and numerous other scandals it’s time for the Government to finally take racial justice seriously.

“An independent inquiry into the Government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic is now needed more urgently than ever. Any further delay will only put more lives at risk.”