Trevor Phillips OBE (born in London, December 31, 1953) is a Black British Labour politician and former political journalist of Guyanese origins. After supporting multiculturalism for many years, Phillips is now one of its most outspoken mainstream critics. He expressed fears that multiculturalism could cause Britain to "sleepwalk towards segregation"^[1] and has argued for school selection to be amended to prevent segregation in British schools. The London Assembly is an elected body that supervises the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Diana Johnson (b. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Alma mater (disambiguation). ... Affiliations Russell Group Association of MBAs IDEA League Association of Commonwealth Universities Golden Triangle Oak Ridge Associated Universities Nobel laureates 14 Website http://www. ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: British African-Caribbean community, Caribbean British, British Asian,Britsh Mixed Black British is term which has had different meanings and uses as a racial and political label. ... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of both cultural and ethnic diversity within the demographics of a particular social space. ...

In 2006 he was appointed the head of a new organisation known as the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights, which will be an organisation promoting equality issues across the full raft of ethnic, gender, sexual-orientation, disability and other minority interests.^[2] The Commission for Equalities and Human Rights is an equality body in the United Kingdom. ...

Early life

Phillips was born in London, living in Wood Green but went to secondary school in Georgetown, Guyana before returning to London to study chemistry at Imperial College London - saying his interest in the subject was prompted by living next to a gasometer as a child. At Imperial he became president of the students' union before his election as president of the National Union of Students in 1978 as a candidate for the Broad Left. He has had a varied career in both media and politics, working initially as a researcher for London Weekend Television (LWT), before being promoted to head of current affairs. He produced and presented The London Programme and has worked on projects for the BBC. With his brother, the crime writer Mike Phillips, he wrote Windrush: Irresistible Rise of Multi-racial Britain (1998, HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-255909-9). , Wood Green is a district in the London Borough of Haringey in North London, England. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Affiliations Russell Group Association of MBAs IDEA League Association of Commonwealth Universities Golden Triangle Oak Ridge Associated Universities Nobel laureates 14 Website http://www. ... Gasometer at West Ham. ... A students union, student government, student senate, students association, or guild of students is a student organization present in many colleges and universities. ... The National Union of Students (NUS) is the main federation of students unions that exist inside the United Kingdom. ... Broad Left is the generic term for a coalition of left members in a trade union. ... LWT redirects here. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... The Empire Windrush The Empire Windrush was a ship that is an important part of the history of multiracialism in the United Kingdom. ...

Political activity

Phillips was active in the voluntary sector, serving as chair of the Runnymede Trust, a think-tank promoting ethnic equality, from 1993 to 1998, and as a commissioner for a number of other charities. He also served as chair of the London Arts Board. His long-standing friendship with Peter Mandelson (who worked with Phillips at London Weekend Television and was best man at his wedding to Asha Bhownagary) brought him close to the New Labour project and he became friends with Tony Blair. Phillips joined the Labour Party in London in 1996. He was awarded an OBE in 1999 for services to broadcasting. Later in 1999, Phillips ran to be Labour's candidate for Mayor of London. The Runnymede Trust is an independent think tank on ethnicity and cultural diversity. ... For other uses, see Think tank (disambiguation). ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... New Labour is an alternative name of the British political Labour Party. ... For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency... The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the elected mayor of Greater London. ...

Phillips was initially reported to be Tony Blair's preferred choice for the role, and when Blair called for the party to swiftly unite behind one candidate, Ken Livingstone, a left-winger and favourite to win the nomination, offered to form a joint ticket with Phillips as his running mate. Phillips described Livingstone's offer as "patronising" in a response that was seen as an accusation of racism, though Phillips later denied this.^[3] Following this and other controversies, including one over his decision to send his children to a private school, Phillips withdrew from the race a few months later and was not on the final shortlist of candidates. Instead, he accepted an offer to be running mate to Frank Dobson. Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is the outgoing Mayor of London, a post he has held from its creation in 2000 until 2008. ... The Right Honourable Frank Gordon Dobson (born March 15, 1940) is a British politician and member of Parliament for Holborn and St. ...

Although Dobson went on to win the nomination, the contest that was seen as being fixed by use of an electoral college.^[4] Livingstone ran as an independent and won. Phillips was elected as a member of the London Assembly on 4 May 2000. He served as chair of the Assembly until February 2003, before resigning his seat to take up his appointment at the Commission for Racial Equality. The London Assembly is an elected body that supervises the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. ... is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Commission for Racial Equality is a non-governmental organisation in the United Kingdom which tackles racial discrimination and promotes racial equality. ...

Multiculturalism: disagreements with Ken Livingstone

Phillips and Livingstone had a frosty relationship throughout Phillips' time on the London Assembly, and Phillips' opposition to multiculturalism saw them clash during again during his time at the CRE. In 2006, Livingstone accused Phillips of "pandering to the right" so much that he "would soon join the BNP".^[5] Phillips himself replied that his views had been "well documented" and "well supported". Phillips has made speeches stating that "it was right to ask hard questions about multicultural Britain". Although he appologised for his misuse of statistics on levels of segregation he welcomed the focus on integration of different communities after the launch of A Commission for Integration and Cohesion.^[6] The term multiculturalism generally refers to a state of both cultural and ethnic diversity within the demographics of a particular social space. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British National Party (BNP) is a white nationalist political party in the United Kingdom. ...

Views on Islam and free speech

Trevor Phillips has spoken on the need for free speech to "allow people to offend each other."^[7] These comments came after the protests against the Danish cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad which sparked protests in the Muslim world. He stated in an ITV interview: "One point of Britishness is that people can say what they like about the way we should live, however absurd, however unpopular it is." Whilst supporting free speech, Phillips has spoken out against providing the far-right with a platform. Discussing the Oxford Union's invitation to BNP leader Nick Griffin and Holocaust-denier David Irving, he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "As a former president of the National Union of Students, I'm ashamed that this has happened. This is not a question of freedom of speech, this is a juvenile provocation. What I would say to students at Oxford is: You're supposed to be brilliant. Put your brains back in your head. People fought and died for freedom of expression and freedom of speech. They didn't fight and die for it so it could be used as a sort of silly parlour game. This is just a piece of silly pranksterism and the issues are too serious to be left to that."^[8] Nicholas John Nick Griffin (born 1959) is a British politician. ... For other uses, see David Irving (disambiguation). ...

2005 French rioting

• After the 2005 riots in France Phillips warned that "inequality, race and powerlessness" can be "incendiary". He was invited to advise the French government and in September 2007 was awarded the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur^[9].

September 2007 is the ninth month of that year. ...

Queen Mother 'joke'

During an after-dinner speech at Imperial College London on June 16, 2007 he recalled a meeting with the Queen Mother, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, when an aide advised Phillips about dancing with the Queen Mother, 'You have to be careful where you put your hands. You have to be careful about the colostomy bag'. Phillips then reportedly paused for laughter.^[10] Affiliations Russell Group Association of MBAs IDEA League Association of Commonwealth Universities Golden Triangle Oak Ridge Associated Universities Nobel laureates 14 Website http://www. ... is the 167th day of the year (168th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Angela Marguerite; 4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002), was the Queen Consort of King George VI of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions from 1936 until his death in 1952. ...

Critique of America and its Race Issues

In an article published in 2003,^[11] Phillips stated "from Rome, through Constantinople to Venice and London, our (European) nations have a history of peacefully absorbing huge, diverse movements of people, driven by war, famine and persecution; and there is no history of long-term ethnic segregation of the kind one can see in any US city."

In a 2008 article for Prospect magazine, Phillips said that if Barack Obama became President of America it may "postpone the arrival of a post-racial America".^[12] This article is about the current affairs magazine. ... “Barack” redirects here. ...

Accusations of corruption

In 2008 it was revealed through the British tabloid press that a private company co founded by Phillips and in which he owns 70% of the shares^[13], the Equate Organisation had been employed by Channel Four following the race row involving Shilpa Shetty and Jade Goody during the May 2007 series of Celebrity Big Brother. The undisclosed sum paid by C4 to Phillips and the Commission's assertion that "Trevor has gone through all the correct processes of declaring his interests, so there is no conflict"^[14] provoked widespread critisism amongst populist British newspapers whilst broadsheets failed to carry the story at all.

Opposition to 42 day Detention

In early June 2008 Phillips as ECHR head voiced that he "remain[ed] unpersuaded that the government has yet provided compelling evidence for what our legal advice shows would be an effective suspension of some human rights"^[15] Phillips was speaking as a part of the growing uproar surrounding 42 day detention and raised the possibility of the ECHR commission legally testing the legislation, begining a judicial review which would have the potential to further destabilise the ailing Labour Brown government which has invested heavily in 42 day detention.

References

is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Trevor Phillips

• Official website
• The Equate Organisation official website
• BBC website profile
• Observer report on Phillips
• Mayor's BNP outburst at Phillips
• UK race chief in ghetto apology
• Trevor Phillips at CRE
• Imperial College
• Imperial College Union
• Is it time for Trevor Phillips to go? - Asians in Media Magazine
• More Than Skin Deep - Don't be Fooled by the Success of a Few Minority Americans - Racism is Still Rife
• Trevor Phillips Blog