The latest charges for Southport suspect Axel Rudakubana have been greeted with anger, frustration, and outrage.

Here are my initial thoughts on this latest development (tackling matters of immigration & asylum, integration, identity, and public trust in institutions).

🧵 The UK Government has correctly identified the threat posed by disinformation in the aftermath of Southport.

It should also understand that conspiracy theories thrive in information vacuums.

Public institutions should commit to being as transparent and responsive as possible.

I deplore the racially-motivated slur 'coconut' and my view is that it is a toxin in the UK's race-relations conversation.

But I explain why I believe the CPS has made a spectacular blunder and why I am not surprised Marieha Hussain was acquitted 🧵

bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… There has been one prosecution on the grounds of using the term 'coconut'.

A black Lib Dem councillor was found guilty of racial harassment after describing a Tory Asian political opponent as a coconut.

This was said during a council meeting in Bristol.

theguardian.com/uk/2010/jun/28…

To be rightly critical of the APPG British Muslims 'Islamophobia' definition, but wholly supportive of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism it is somewhat modelled on, is intellectually inconsistent.

There are evident flaws in both which pose a threat to intellectual openness. There is a strong case for tightening both the APPG British Muslims 'Islamophobia' and IHRA anti-Semitism definitions (which should also involve replacing the former with "anti-Muslim prejudice").

Both contain needlessly restrictive provisions relating to foreign regimes.

Lots of talk on the role of cultural values and norms when it comes to Pakistani-heritage grooming gangs.

This is seriously sensitive territory and it is vital not to indulge in group-level generalisations.

Here are my views, with my background in integration & immigration 🧵 Highly-respected Nazir Afzal has stated that Pakistani-origin men are over-represented in street grooming.

This is in line with the findings of the Bhatti-Sinclair & Sutcliffe paper on group localised child sexual exploitation (GLCSE).

Thread on paper:

https://twitter.com/rakibehsan/status/1643004183254114304?s=20

In 2021, 81.7% of usual residents in England & Wales identified their ethnic group within the high-level "White" category.

This is a decrease from 86.0% in the 2011 Census.

The % of the population in all high-level ethnic groups, excluding “White”, has increased since 2011. Within the "White" ethnic group, 74.4% of usual residents in England and Wales identified their ethnic group as "English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British".

A decrease from 80.5% in 2011, and a continued decrease from 2001, when 87.5% identified as "White: British".

For the 1st time in a census of England and Wales, less than half of the population (46.2%, 27.5 million people) described themselves as Christian.

“No religion” was the second most common response, increasing by 12 percentage points to 37.2% from 25.2% in 2011.

Secularisation. However, there were increases in the number of people who described themselves as "Muslim" (6.5% in 2021, up from 4.9% in 2011) and "Hindu" (1.7% in 2021, up from 1.5% in 2011).

"Sikh" is at 0.9% in 2021, marginally up from 0.8% in 2011. "Buddhist" 0.5% in 2021 (0.4% in 2011).

The Conservative Party is poorer for not having Kemi Badenoch as its leader.

Desperately needs a leader who understands the value of family stability and the desire for safe communities; that immigration is not only an economic issue, but also a deeply social and cultural one. Britain needs a conservative movement - not a Tory Party beholden to narrow corporate interests.

Reducing citizens to individual economic units is dehumanising - cultivating a sense of belonging and rootedness needs to part of the conversation.

Family, community, nation.

It is understood that the UK Government is preparing an official response to the Sewell report on race & ethnic disparities.

I am not entirely convinced that the UK Government fully understands what is at stake here. British race relations is very much at a crossroads (1/5) American-inspired radical identity politics is a direct threat to British community relations.

Its influence within public institutions - from the NHS to state school system - should concern every member of the Gov.

It is anti-responsibility, anti-family, anti-cohesion (2/5)

One man who has been largely overlooked in cricket's 'racism scandal' is former England and Yorkshire player Ajmal Shahzad.

And it is a shame - because his insights deserve a far wider reach. But perhaps they don't fit in with the identitarian script.

google.com/amp/s/www.dail… Ajmal Shahzad's experiences and comments do not undermine Azeem Rafiq's testimony.

However, the degree to which Shahzad has been overlooked, demonstrates that this is not about "diversity" and "inclusion" - it is ultimately about 'narrative-setting'.

Shahzad's insights matter.

Some 'progressive' leftists in the United States are responsible for draining the term 'white supremacy' of its historical weight and significance.

Every political and legal result they are dissatisfied with is blamed on white supremacy.

It is both disrespectful and desperate. US-inspired identitarianism has gained a foothold in Britain.

The UK Government has been accused of pursuing a "white nationalist" agenda.

It has set up bespoke resettlement schemes for Hongkongers fleeing Chinese-state tyranny and Afghans escaping from Taliban-led persecution.

"Starmer writes that the ‘years of Brexit gridlock put enormous stress on our country’ – conveniently glossing over the fact that he was the chief architect of Labour’s second referendum policy."

My latest @mailplus on the Labour leader's new essay.

mailplus.co.uk/edition/commen… "There are two major problems which stand out for me – a failure to acknowledge the anti-democratic metropolitan snobbery associated with the party’s disastrous ‘second referendum’ policy and an unwillingness to engage with perfectly legitimate anxieties over immigration."

Instead of exploring ways to create a healthcare system which is more responsive to the needs of a diverse population, NHS 'equality professionals' instruct white people to read up on their racial "privilege" and "fragility".

Divisive and a fundamental waste of public resources. Action is needed to strengthen relations between the NHS and distrustful communities.

Need tailored health-awareness interventions for illnesses which are more prevalent in particular ethnic groups.

Lecturing white people on their 'fragility'? Dear me.

https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1432646122636460035?s=19

The UK's serious problem is institutional ignorance.

Unknowledgeable middle-class directors/managers who are unaware of the diversity of needs and concerns in working-class, multi-ethnic communities.

In Luton's case, largely witless rural-based "consultants" being drafted in. We have a cultural model which does not prioritise local expertise and grassroots knowledge the way it should.

And we do have an economic model which needs to be more merit + knowledge-based - excess amount of people who are clearly "punching" in terms of the role they are in.

Despite being an international activist movement, it is clear that much of #BlackLivesMatter is ultimately interested in forms of violence, persecution and oppression which white people are held responsible for.

If the sources are non-white, the level of enthusiasm is not there. Violence and other forms of criminality within predominantly black inner-city neighbourhoods are rarely part of the #BLM conversation.

Outside of the Western world, we have Black African Christians being butchered by co-racial Islamist militants in the Sahel.

Little is said.

Reflecting on the protests in London, my general thoughts:

- Protesting at No10 was a wasted exercise and insulting British police officers was hugely disrespectful

- Radical leftist activists continue to be a serious threat to Labour's chances of future electoral success 👇 Radical leftist activists in the UK are so consumed by their anti-government hatred, they protested at No10 over a tragic event which took place in the US state of Minnesota.

What exactly do you expect from the UK Government and the Prime Minister? Why were you protesting there?

Trevor Phillips:

- Former head of Commission for Racial Equality

- Former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission

- Chairman of Green Park Diversity Analytics

- Recipient of France's Legion of Honour

MCB, along with Naz Shah, are not doing themselves any favours. The broader problem the MCB has, is that its efforts to speak on behalf of British Muslims - a diverse population - is not matched by representation.

And it must also understand that criticisms of multiculturalism, and anti-Muslim prejudice, do not necessarily go hand-in-hand.

Mayor of London @SadiqKhan's @guardian article, framing the impact of COVID-19 as a form of racial injustice, is unhelpful.

#COVID19UK does not "discriminate" as such - but it is having a disproportionate impact under certain economic, social, and health conditions.

THREAD: % of ethnic group living in London:

Black African: 58.0%
Black Caribbean: 57.9%
Bangladeshi: 49.7%
Indian: 38.4%
Pakistani: 19.9%

8.1% of UK's white British people live in London.

Around 1 in 2 people of Bangladeshi origin live in London (concentrated in East London).

Been asked a great deal about how Labour managed to delivered such a catastrophic performance in last month's General Election.

Here are some of my thoughts - the thrust of it is that in the ongoing 'culture battle', Labour was well and truly taken to the cleaners.

THREAD 👇 Labour's fudging of Brexit was disastrous.

If the Labour Party offered an appealing vision of a post-Brexit, social-democratic nation-state - a policy agenda which supported political decentralisation and a 'local' approach to economic regeneration - it could have done well.