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U.K. move termed racist

LONDON: A government initiative to provide extra help to the recession-hit ethnic minority groups has sparked a race row with critics accusing Prime Minister Gordon Brown of pandering to the minorities and calling for a “colour-blind” approach to tackling the economic crisis.

The criticism followed a statement by Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell that the government was determined to ensure that ethnic minority workers were not “left behind” as the recession deepened. It did not want to repeat the “mistakes” of the previous recession, in the 1990s, when employment among ethnic minorities fell by 10 per cent compared with a six per cent drop for other groups.

“In the past too many were left behind in bad times,” he said

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) would assess the impact of unemployment on minority groups and advise the government.

A spokesman for the Commission said it would identify groups most at risk of being left behind. The Tories called the move “outrageous” and said it smacked of racism.

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