Who watches the watches?: A response to Nazir Afzal’s ‘Independent Culture Review of London Fire Brigade’
Dr Richard Norrie, June 2023
Dr Richard Norrie (director of the research and statistics programme, Civitas) conducts a forensic analysis of the recent Independent Culture Review of London Fire Brigade. That review was led by the former prosecutor Nazir Afzal, and reported ‘dangerous levels of ingrained prejudice against women and the barriers faced by people of colour spoke for themselves’. It claimed to find evidence that supports a finding that the London Fire Brigade is institutionally misogynist and racist.
Norrie finds the conclusions lacking, saying:
‘…the Afzal review proves on close inspection to be tendentious without having made its case. The charges of institutional racism and misogyny have not been substantiated by sufficient evidence. Mostly we have a series of anecdotes that are undoubtedly troubling but taken at face value and then construed as definitive. The authors do not appreciate that there are corrupt and incompetent doctors, but that is not sufficient to damn all doctors, say, or the NHS as a whole.’
This analysis looks at the methodology used to conclude that the London Fire Brigade is institutionally racist and misogynistic and draws very different conclusions. Dr Richard Norrie looks at the data used to come to these conclusions. Norrie concludes that these reviews have become ‘political theatre’.
Norrie takes aim at ‘the ideas of vested interests’ and leaves the reader in no doubt that ‘the review serves to justify a power grab by what is a powerful political lobby within our institutions.’
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