Civil servant ‘tried to take own life due to prolonged racial bullying’

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. I was told by a colleague that someone had attempted to take their own life because of prolonged racial bullying Excerpt from presentation on racism And the PA news agency understands that concerns have been raised over a number of years around how black members of staff are treated, with examples given of one black worker being called “boy” in a meeting and the use of the N-word. Another said a member of their team had only appointed white men, and when challenged on not appointing a colleague with a Nigerian name, said it was because “‘no-one can pronounce their name’ and ‘I don’t understand them when they speak’.” A further employee said: “Things reached a very low point for me about what is happening in certain parts of the department when I was told by a colleague that someone had attempted to take their own life because of prolonged racial bullying.” The slides said the series of presentations was And the So Let’s Talk About Race programme has been implemented in a number of Government departments and often involves the sharing of incidences where staff felt they had experienced racism to highlight the issue. The Cabinet Office said latest data showed a “decline in reported incidents of discrimination” and that the purpose of the presentation was to elevate experiences and “help make our workspace more inclusive”. Cabinet Office spokesperson Mr Tse wrote about running the sessions in an article for the Black History Month website in August last year, where he said “colleagues hear examples of the lived experiences of colleagues from an ethnic minority background of the subtle, covert, and sometimes not so subtle, overt racism, that is still happening, and these stories have a profound impact on all who hear them”.