The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ("the College") and the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) have called on UK Government to urgently publish recommendations on protecting minority ethnic groups from COVID-19.

They were responding to claims by Prof Raj Bhopal that parliament has not been told the truth about the recommendations contained within an omitted chapter of the report, nor about the existence of a second report on the impact of COVID-19 on minority ethnic groups.

The College and FPH are deeply concerned that when challenged by Christine Jardine MP (Edinburgh West) about the "missing" chapter in the PHE report during a House of Commons debate on 4 June, the government failed to acknowledge either the existence of the chapter, or the existence of a PHE second report.

The government must be "open and honest" about claims it withheld the recommendations from the public domain, the College and FPH have said.

Professor Angela Thomas OBE, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said:

We are deeply concerned by reports that a chapter was removed, which we understand contained responses from 1,000-plus organisations and individuals on the impact of COVID-19 on minority ethnic groups. We understand that many responses provided recommendations, and suggested that discrimination and poorer life chances are playing a part in the increased risk of COVID-19 to those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Given recent events relating to racism and racial equality, it is incredibly important that the government is transparent with the public. People deserve to know why this section was removed from the published version of the report. We are calling on the UK Government to publish this important information as a matter of urgency.

Furthermore, we have been advised that there is a second PHE report on this topic, by those who reviewed it. We are concerned, therefore, that when challenged by Christine Jardine MP about the "missing" chapter in the PHE report during a House of Commons debate on 4 June, the government failed to acknowledge either the existence of the chapter, or the existence of a PHE second report. The government must ensure that the second PHE report is made available to the public soon, so that they can scrutinise its recommendations.

On equalities, Professor Thomas said:

The College is fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all – including the minority ethnic healthcare workers whom we represent. We support the Black Lives Matter movement, and the campaign to end racism and promote racial equality. We will continue to speak out when we witness racism and racial injustice – just as we have done over the past days and weeks.

Professor Maggie Rae, President of the UK Faculty of Public Health said:

Not enough is being done to rectify the inequalities experienced by Britain’s minority ethnic groups, as demonstrated by PHE’s COVID-19 disparities review. These inequalities are not new findings though, and we know that minority ethnic communities face inequalities in a plurality of areas as demonstrated by the Government’s 2018 Race Disparity Audit.

COVID-19 has once again shone a light on the decades of discrimination faced by these populations, and on the widening inequalities they face as a consequence. We commend those who have spoken out about the missing PHE report. It is essential that these are published now, so that steps can be taken to tackle these inequalities at their fundamental level, and that discussion turns to action. We must work together, with unceasing determination, to put an end to the injustices faced by Britain’s minority ethnic groups.