20th Anniversary of the Publication of the Macpherson Report

That the Parliament acknowledges the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Macpherson report on 24 February 2019; recognises that this groundbreaking inquiry was launched as a result of the tragic mishandling of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, a young black man, in 1993; notes that the report found the Metropolitan Police Service to be "institutionally racist" and, importantly, defined institutional racism as "the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin (which) can be seen or detected in processes, attitudes, and behaviour which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice, ignorance, thoughtlessness, and racial stereotyping"; recognises that Scotland’s response to this, The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry: An Action Plan for Scotland, aimed to "eliminate racial discrimination and racism in our country"; supports calls from race equality campaigners for this publication to be revisited; notes with concern the recent reported claim by the Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner, Cressida Dick, that the organisation is no longer institutionally racist, and urges all of Scotland’s institutions to continue to guard against the realities of structural and institutional racism.