Shaun Bailey: Police are showing they want to be part of the fight against racism

7 June 2020, 10:48 | Updated: 7 June 2020, 10:49

Shaun Bailey, London mayoral candidate on BLM protests

Anti-racism protests have transcended race issues and have shown Brits what needs to be done to repair inequalities.

Shaun Bailey is Conservative candidate for Mayor of London and a member of the London Assembly. He was speaking to Andrew Castle in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests and shared how the protests have reflected wider issues of race relations in the UK.

Mr Bailey revealed that he has been victim to stop and search in the past in London. Andrew wanted to know if he has felt resentful towards this. "Racism is not a black problem, it is a problem of authority" he told Andrew.

Mr Bailey went on to commend the police for how they conducted themselves at protests in London yesterday, pointing out that "for many people they are a symbol of racism and they've behaved in a phenomenal manner." He went on to note that these protests have transcended anti racism and have come to be "about who we as a public give authority to and who administers this authority."

Andrew wanted to know if Mr Bailey thought that violence after protests had undermined the message of Black Lives Matter. "This has gone beyond Black Lives Matter" the mayoral candidate said. He added that people must behave when attending anti-racism protests, telling Andrew that "any level of violence is out of order."

Andrew questioned Mr Bailey as to whether he thought these protests are a bigger issue than the pandemic. "It's certainly a longer lasting issue" he insisted, arguing that institutional racism, particularly in the police force, has always been an issue for minorities. He told Andrew that "the police have shown that they want to be involved in the change" and this is testament to the social importance of these protests.

Shaun Bailey told Andrew that he has experienced institutional racism "a large number of times" and accounted his feelings as a young black Londoner being stopped and searched solely for his skin colour.

He acknowledged now that "police are much more involved in repairing community relations" and this should be seen as a positive during the London Black Lives Matter protests.

He encouraged the public to today stay away from protests, telling listeners that "the point has been made." He made the point to Andrew that "we do have a pandemic on and we are trying to keep everybody safe."

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