UK police watchdog says anti‑racism reforms too slow amid two‑tier policing row

Police race watchdog chair Abimbola Johnson warned that anti‑racism reforms in British police forces are "too slow, too inconsistent and too poorly embedded". The criticism comes as the murder of 18‑year‑old Henry Nowak and the handling of his dying moments in Southampton have sparked a political row over the National Police Chiefs' Council guidance on "racial equity".

Johnson said the controversy could undermine progress on tackling racism, rejecting claims that reforms favour minority communities at the expense of white citizens. She argued that better data, supervision, accountability and risk assessment would improve policing for everyone.

Policing minister Sarah Jones has called parts of the guidance "wrong", and senior police chiefs have agreed to review the wording after pressure from opposition figures such as Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp and Reform UK, who accuse the guidance of enabling differential treatment. Johnson stressed that the guidance is a statement of values, not operational instruction, and warned against any retreat from reform.