Britain's top criminal prosecutor, David Calvert-Smith, says he believes the whole of British society is racist. As far as ethnic minorities are concerned, he is stating the obvious. Hugo Young, writing in The Guardian, says his claim is "a revealing illiteracy". Frank Furedi, in The Daily Express, says this is a further sign of the "racial paranoia" which has beset society since Macpherson. According to Glen Smythe, chairman of the police service, Calvert-Smith is talking "piffling rubbish". Such criticisms serve to deny the fact "that everyone in the majority population colludes to persecute or at least discriminate against, members of the racial minorities". They are "a revealing illiteracy" about the importance of racism to British, especially English, way of thinking.

Racism is "the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others" and the right to rule inferior races. The British Empire was the physical embodiment of English supremacy. At its height, the empire covered one fifth of the world's land mass most of which inhabited by non-white races. According to Kipling, the empire was the "white man's burden". It fell on him to rule and civilise the "new caught, sullen peoples, half devil and half child". Non-whites of the empire were "the hewers of wood and the drawers of water" for the white man; "God is an English".

The belief in white supremacy, which justifies slavery, was the glue connecting all classes of British society. Transporting, storing and processing raw material from the colonies on which British industry depended provided work for sailors, docks and warehousemen. Trade with the colonies gave employment to millions of workers in industries such as textile, shipbuilding and arms. The 1905 Liberal government used revenues earned from taxing the profit of such trade to lay the foundation of the British welfare state by enacting the 1908 Old Age Pensions Act.

Racism is the legacy of the British Empire. Post-war immigrants to Britain from the non-white colonies suffered discrimination in education, employment, and housing. The 1965 Race Relation Act aimed to outlaw such discrimination. Further anti-discrimination laws followed. However, the racism Calvert-Smith speaks about remains an institution in Britain today.

Calvert-Smith says, "British society is institutionally racist within the Macpherson definition". Macpherson defines "institutionally racism" as: the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin". Hugo Young asks "how can people be institutionally anything?" The Oxford Dictionary, definition 6, defines an institution as: "An established law, custom, usage, practice, organisation or other element in the political or social life of a people". In other words, an institution does not call for an organisation in order for it to exist. Take for example, the British institution of eating meat and two vegetables each Sunday. There is no organisation to force Brits to carry out this custom, yet they do.

Racism is another British institution. A BBC ICM poll finds 53% of white people believe Britain is a racist society. Racial discrimination is unlawful. Yet, it is the "custom" of the majority population to see non-white as inferior. It is their "practice" to discriminate against them. Nearly forty years of anti-racist laws has not stopped discriminatory practice in employment, education, housing and especially the criminal justice system. Which leads us to ask why Calvert-Smith should go public about the level of racism in British society.

Many people white are uncomfortable with Macpherson definition of "institutional racism". Police chiefs and Calvert-Smith admit their staffs are "institutionally racist". However, staffs in these organisations are carrying out a white "backlash" against Macpherson recommendations . Is Calvert-Smith's comment a subtle attack aimed to undermine Macpherson?

Calvert-Smith claims that although the CPS is "institutionally racist", staffs in his organisation are not influenced by a suspect's colour, culture or ethnic origin when charges are bought against them. If that is the case then in what way is the CPS racist?

Racism is a mixture of prejudice and power. CPS staffs are unlikely to stop at just hating non-whites when they have the power to discriminate against them. Britain's non-white population is barely 5.5% of the general population, yet they form 20% of the prison population. British judges imprison more black people than South African did under apartheid. How does Calvert-Smith account for such discrepancies, if as he claims CPS staffs do not discriminate against non-white when charging suspects?

The Denman report into the prosecution service finds racism in CPS employment practice. Managers are not comfortable with the term institutional racism. Senior managers are only playing lip service to race equality opportunity policies. There is a backlash among white staff against ending discriminatory practice when employing and promoting non-white staff. A separate report by the Commission for Racial equality finds CPS staff working in racially segregated office in the Croydon Branch.

In response to the Denman findings Calvert-Smith says: "these are complex issues which require complex solutions. We have been working very hard since Sylvia's preliminary report was published last spring on a wide range of remedies". Two years later, the CPS inspectors find prosecutors are "failing to correct the bias in police charging decisions". Prosecutors are still "overcharging" non-whites. Such findings give the lie to the Calvert-Smith claim that it is painful for him and police chiefs to admit their organisation are staffed by racist.

For Calvert-Smith comments to make any sense, it can only be seen as an acknowledgement of the signal coming from "middle England". The message coming from middle England, reflected in its votes for racist candidates, says there must be no further compromise with non-whites. Like David Blunkett's "swamp" speech, Calvert-Smith comments say: "I hear you. The white staff of the organisation I represent hears you". It says the empire strikes back; Macpherson has been put to bed. It is a dangerous signal for non-white people in Britain in view of the propose reform of the criminal justice to system.

Ezra Goldstein © Blaqfair.com