A former chief prosecutor for the North West of England has criticised a new police campaign that tells young people what to do in a terror attack for only using white celebrities.
Nazir Afzal, who successfully led a high-profile case against a sex gang in Rochdale and later worked as head of the national body for police commissioners, was reacting to a new counterterror video fronted by a host of celebrities including survival expert Bear Grylls and England striker Jamie Vardy, saying he was concerned there was: "no non-White face" in the video "running, hiding or telling".
"We're potential victims too," he added.
With great respect for the message I am concerned that no non-White face is running, hiding or telling!! We’re pote… https://t.co/YSzqx4bp6K
The video, which is the product of a partnership between the Sun newspaper and Counter Terrorism Policing, is aimed at millions of 11- to 16-year-olds to keep them safe in the event of a terror attack – and comes just weeks after the Parsons Green tube attack, which injured 30 people.
It features celebrities like TV personality Ant Middleton, England rugby star James Haskell, and double Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones. However, there appear to be no black, Asian, or minority ethnic (BAME) figures in the campaign so far.
Speaking to BuzzFeed News, Afzal said he believed the campaign was "the right message", but said he was concerned at the way it had been delivered: "A group of prominent celebrities who all happen to be white talking about how they should run, how they should hide, how they should tell – and you have no nonwhite face at all in the video."
He said the campaign video fed the perception that "the only victims or potential victims are white people and the only perpetrators are those who are not white – and we can't allow that to be supported or enhanced on every occasion".
"This was an opportunity to demonstrate that victims come from all communities, and potential victims come from all communities," Afzal said, adding that the message about how communities need to stand together against terror was "sadly missed".
Remember this simple advice from @vardy7. It could save your life during a gun or knife attack: RUN, HIDE, TELL… https://t.co/5rDx60cvNp
He said that the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said it approached people from diverse backgrounds, but the celebrities shown are the only people who volunteered.
"Now, if that's true," Afzal said, "I would want to know the names of every one of those minority [ethnic] celebrities who chose not to support a campaign that protects us all, and I'd want to shame them." If he had been asked to take part, he said, he would have taken part "at the speed of light".
Afzal, who stood down as chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners amid reports of a row over media coverage of the Manchester terror attack, cited David Lammy's landmark report into the treatment of BAME people in the criminal justice system, and said the latest social media message was "potentially an example of unconscious bias slipping in".
He said decision-makers had not thought about the "most effective way" of getting the message across to Britain's diverse communities in the production of the campaign.
Afzal, Britain's most senior Muslim lawyer, recently made headlines after warning an “industry” of Muslim groups was spreading misinformation about the Prevent strategy, the government's flagship counterterror programme.
There have been five terror attacks on UK soil this year. In response to the campaign, Fiyaz Mughal, the director of Faith Matters, an interfaith organisation that works on counterextremism programmes, said it was a "warmly welcomed campaign" from counterterrorism police.
"We would, however, like to see more diversity in the people driving home this message so that all of us take responsibility for the safety of each other," he said.
Deputy assistant commissioner Lucy D’Orsi from the NPCC said: "It was important to us that this video made a lasting impact on as many young people as possible, so we collaborated with The Sun to enlist the support of celebrities.
"Many celebrities were approached, from all backgrounds, and we are grateful to those who volunteered to support the Run, Hide, Tell messaging.
But this is just the start of the campaign, and both ourselves and The Sun will continue to appeal for more celebrities to get on board and support this life-saving advice."