'Moral vacuum leads black men to crime'

Ben Summerskill, society editor
The Observer, Sunday 17 February 2002

A leading race campaigner has blamed London's upsurge in shootings and carjackings on a moral vacuum inhabited by many black people. Young men have been sucked into a 'multimillion pound economy of drugs and guns which subverts mainstream morality and social responsibility,' says Lee Jasper, an adviser to mayor Ken Livingstone.

Jasper's remarks are some of the most outspoken by a leading black Briton for years. They will embarrass Ministers who claim to be winning the war against social exclusion in inner cities.

Jasper, writing in today's Observer, says: 'Young black men have found support amongst peers whose creed is "live rich, live fast and don't give a damn about society". People from all classes drive into our communities to buy their recreational drugs. They then go to their homes in the peaceful suburbs, leaving the black community to live with violent drug dealers prepared to kill at the drop of a hat.'

'The situation since the killing of Damilola Taylor has made things quite clear,' adds Jasper. 'Black children go to school in fear of bullying. They are bullied and then become bullies themselves. Those bullies are expelled and join street gangs.'