The author of a government race report has labelled a university 'cowards' after it withdrew its offer to award him an honorary degree. Dr Tony Sewell CBE, who runs a charity helping black children get into higher education, wrote a major study for Boris Johnson which concluded Britain’s multi-racial society was a 'model' to the world.
The report, which was published last March, found that there was no evidence that the UK was institutionally racist. This provoked criticisms that the report was insulting and divisive.
As a result, the University of Nottingham, which had decided to offer Dr Sewell an honorary degree in late 2019, withdrew the offer last year. The university has said this was due to Dr Sewell becoming a ‘subject of political controversy’, with strict criteria meaning it would no longer be appropriate to award the degree.
