A racial disparities commission set up by Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly set to recommend that public bodies and companies stop using the term BAME.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the move will form a key part of the Race and Ethnic Disparities Commission’s report which is set to be published this week.
The Telegraph cited a source who said the term BAME – which stands for Black, Asian and minority ethnic – has become “unhelpful and redundant”, adding that the term masks the lived experiences of individual groups.
The commission’s report is said to also include research which suggests the the term “ethnic minority” is more popular with people from ethnic minorities than BAME or “people of colour”.
Speaking to Sky News about the report, Labour’s shadow justice secretary David Lammy said: “The problem is there are vast differences across and within ethnic minority groups here in the UK.”
He added: “I think there is a call to move away from it [the term BAME]. The question is what do you replace it with?
“We will have to wait and see what the government come forward with this new commission.”
The racial disparities commission was established by Boris Johnson in response to the worldwide Black Lives Matter protestors sparked by the killing of George Floyd last summer.
The commission is made up of representatives from the fields of science, education, broadcasting, economics, medicine, policing and community organising.
Mr Johnson said he hoped a “positive agenda for change” would come from the formation of the commission.