"The government must do more to promote integration and not look away from problems out of a fear of "being labelled racists", Kemi Badenoch has told the BBC. The Conservative leader said the UK had "taken for granted the fact that we have been a fairly cohesive society" but warned "things are fragmenting". But she warned that immigration levels were too high, adding that "If people come in too quickly, it's impossible to integrate"."
"In a recording reportedly made in March during a dinner and published by the Guardian, the shadow justice secretary said he had not seen "another white face" in the hour and a half he spent in Handsworth filming a video about litter. He went on: "I want to live in a country where people are properly integrated. "It's not about the colour of your skin, or your faith, of course it isn't. But I want people to be living alongside each other, not parallel lives.""
"There are numerous parts of our country now where the same story is happening, and at the extreme levels, a lack of integration leads us into a very dark place as a country. "We're here in Manchester today, a week on from a terrible terrorist attack where a man who lived in our country for 30 years clearly wasn't well integrated, clearly didn't share British values because he went on to murder British Jews.""
The government must intensify efforts to promote integration and confront social problems rather than avoid them for fear of being labelled racist. The UK has long been considered a fairly cohesive society, but social cohesion is fragmenting and high immigration rates are creating integration challenges when arrivals are too rapid. Specific areas, including Handsworth in Birmingham, were described as poorly integrated with residents living parallel lives. Concerns were raised that severe lack of integration can contribute to extremism, referencing a Manchester attack involving an individual who had lived decades in the country. The remarks provoked political criticism and defensive replies citing local disruptions such as a bin strike.
Read at www.bbc.com
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