‘Tory Government wants to cancel me for caring about fairness and racial equality’

An award-winning author has accused the government of trying to “intimidate” her with a new policy aimed at blacklisting people who make “controversial” material.

Afua Hirsch has spoken out about former Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’s alleged racist comments towards Black and Asian people and is now speculated by the Telegraph to have been banned from giving talks in Whitehall because of it.

The Cabinet Office’s due diligence guidance which has come into effect, allows civil servants to trawl through social media profiles of speakers who attend “learning and development” events.

They will be looking for any instances where a person has criticised the government which could allegedly result in them being blacklisted.

Afua says the strategy backed by former Brexit Opportunities Minister and current Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg goes against the Government’s own claims of being “in favour of free speech” and that is a distraction from “its own failings.”

Afua told the Mirror: “It’s so ironic that it goes fully against the values they claim to embody. They claim to be against cancel culture, they claim to be in favour of freedom of speech and it just goes to show how superficial both values they claim to have.”

Afua, who also works as a professor at the University of Southern California, has previously spoken out about former Prime Minister Boris’ Johnson’s “litany” of alleged racist remarks about Black and Asian people.

Professor Priyamvada Gopal and TV Historian David Olusoga, are also believed to be among the names that may be potentially barred from Whitehall.

Professor Gopal, an academic from Cambridge University, was disinvited from speaking at civil service events after claiming that former Home Secretary Priti Patel had “anti-Black” attitudes.

Critics say if speakers are being vetted for holding views seen as “controversial” this shows an aggressive decline in the Government’s stance on racism and promises for change after the murder of George Floyd in America.

Afua feels that supporting anti-racism work was only used by the Government for a political advantage at the time.

“Nothing this government says is based on a deeply held belief or something, “she said.

“I think they were willing to go with the flow of anti-racism and sentiment when they felt it was expedient.

“I don’t think their support of anti racism after George Floyd’s murder was genuine and I don’t think this attack on anti-racist work is genuine either. I think that’s just designed to try and manipulate public opinion in a way that suits them.”

But Afua said although she will continue to give talks about racial equality, the new policy will damage the work of civil servants who want to progress inclusion and diversity initiatives in future.

She said: “I feel sad for civil servants and for government departments because I think there are lots of really hard working, well intentioned people there who are just genuinely trying to make their workplaces fairer, more inclusive and trying to improve the quality of decision making in this country.

“And that’s why I think it’s sad. I really think it’s going to damage them much more than it’s going to damage me.”

Afua believes that the word “woke” has also been weaponised and that being “honest” is now forbidden.

She said: “[Woke means] somebody who actually wants to be aware of what’s happening and to see things clearly.

“I think people who do anti-racist work, people who are socially conscious, people care about fairness and equality, they don’t use that word.

“It’s a word that only people on the far-right use. It has very thinly veiled racist undertones. It’s also a way of being racist without actually invoking race.

“And I think that’s why the right have latched on to it so enthusiastically because it’s made it easier for them to say things that in the past would have sounded more overtly racist or discriminatory to say.”

Afua’s talks on racism includes her own experiences as well as those of ethnic minorities, in a bit to find solutions and create more inclusive environments.

She said: “I talk about not just my experience, but those other minority groups. I create conversations from which they can work out for themselves, how they can make the workplace more open, more inclusive, more aware of the perspective and lived experience of different people.

“So it’s really based on my work as a journalist, academic, TV and filmmaker as an author. Everything I say is always backed up by evidence. It’s actually very moderate in the scheme of things.”

The Daily Mirror contacted the Cabinet Office to find out if Afua had been banned from Whitehall but the spokesperson said they could not confirm.

However, a spokesperson said: “This guidance was introduced to ensure there is a proper process for inviting speakers to talk to civil servants in the Cabinet Office, as the public rightly expects.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to discriminatory behaviour and this process will help prevent anyone with a history of such comments from being invited.

“All guidance we issue is in line with the principle of impartiality, as set out in the Civil Service code.”

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