Covid-19: Disparate Impact

Lord Mann Excerpts

Tuesday 27th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Viscount. It might not be a royal commission, but the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has been set up by the Government, building on the Race Disparity Unit. It is reviewing inequality in the UK, focusing on areas such as poverty, education, employment, health and the criminal justice system. Again, we know that there are disparities, and we want to know why and what the causes are. If the noble Viscount would like to submit evidence, there is a call for evidence at the moment. I have not read of any government policy on distributing hand gel and so forth, but there has been most impressive work in transport interchanges and so on, and a lot of institutions, including Parliament, have taken it upon themselves to make those kinds of precautionary measures available.

[Lord Mann (Non-Afl)]

The Statement looks forward to the availability of a vaccine, which will be—when it happens—warmly welcomed in this House, of course, as well as across the country and indeed the world. But one ethnic minority group will have a kickback at that time. A report I have just released, a copy of which has gone to the Minister’s department for her personal perusal, shows how the anti-vaccine movement is deeply embedded with anti-Semitism. Some 79% of the anti-vaccine groups organising in this country publish vehement anti-Semitism in their discussions; for example, categorising Bill Gates as Jewish, talking about the Zionists being responsible, blaming Israel for the creation of coronavirus—the Rothschilds and the new world order. Those are the same old conspiracy theories. Does the Minister agree that we need to take on the extremists on the far right and the far left of the anti-vaccine movement both now and in advance of a vaccine being available? Their conspiracy theories are garnering too many views online, and perhaps too many supporters, with deeply worrying anti-Semitism at their heart.

[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord and I am sure that I will give his report my personal perusal and respond to it. Of course, we need to ensure that the public health messages going to communities are accurate and truthful. Obviously, there are various laws around correcting information and making sure that it is truthful. Conspiracy theories need to be debunked so that people have the information on which to make their decisions. We are all looking forward to a vaccine, but it is also apparent that not enough black and minority ethnic individuals are coming forward to the NHS Covid-19 vaccine registry. The honourable Kemi Badenoch MP has written to every MP asking them to encourage their constituents to come forward to ensure that the vaccine, when we get it, is effective among black and minority ethnic people.