Trevor Phillips ‘failing’ gays and other minorities
London mayor Ken Livingstone has renewed his feud with the incoming head of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR) Trevor Phillips, accusing him of failing minorities.
Mr Livingstone said plans to put minority groups such as black, people, the gay community and women under one organisation are “rubbish.”
He described Mr Phillips as a failure in his current role as chief of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), which will be wound down next year to make way for the CEHR.
The Mayor, who has previously accused Mr Phillips of being too right wing and publicity hungry, told LBC Radio: “If Trevor Phillips wasn’t black, he couldn’t have done what he’s done.
“If a white man had been put into the CRE with the job of winding it down, there would have been uproar and they wouldn’t have got away with it.
“I was opposed to winding it up. This idea that we’re going to have disabled people, lesbians and gays, women and blacks all in one human rights commission, I think, is rubbish.”
A CRE spokesman described the comments as “unfortunate.”
The CEHR will come into effect next October.
