Stephen Lawrence's mother urges change 'at the top' over media diversity
 Lady Lawrence says BBC needs to do more than scheme to hire 20 people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds The mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence has called on the media industry to do more to reflect Britain's black and Asian population, saying change had to happen "at the top". Lady Lawrence, who on Friday called for a public inquiry into the use of undercover police, welcomed a BBC initiative to increase the diversity of its workforce but said more needed to be done. She said a corporation scheme, in association with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, to take on 20 people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds to learn broadcasting and production skills, was a "great idea" but added: "I think it should have happened a long time ago." "If you truly want to reflect society you have to put things in place to make it happen," Lawrence told an audience at a New Broadcasting House event organised by the BBC and the Royal Television Society on Friday. "They majority of people do have qualifications, they do have everything they need and yet there is still a barrier. If you look at the top level, who is at the top? That needs to change. Once you see all these changes, you will begin to see people want to come here. "If you see nobody reflecting you, you feel there is no point in trying, they won't accept me." Lawrence pointed out that all the camera operators at Friday's event in the BBC's Radio Theatre were white, which she said was reflected across UK TV. In the whole of the UK media industry, an estimated 5.4% of people are from BAME backgrounds. "If you look around, all the camera people are white," said Lawrence. "You think about the TV, how many people watch TV. You need to see that reflected and you don't. Across the media, whether it be journalists or within the TV, you just don't have that, and that really needs to change. "I know there are a couple of actors here, and sometimes actors have to go abroad to get those big [roles]." Her comments follow a call by actor and comedian Lenny Henry for broadcasters to take immediate action to reverse the number of black and Asian people in the creative industries. His proposals, dubbed the "Henry plan", were outlined in a summit called by culture minister Ed Vaizey last month. Henry is due to return to the topic when he gives the annual Bafta TV lecture next month. The BBC director general, Tony Hall, has indicated that he intends to make the diversity of BBC employment, both on-screen and behind it, a priority of his tenure. Lawrence said the media had initially not been interested in the murder of her son and compared it with the media's treatment of a white teenager in London around the same time, in 1993. "I would always say Stephen was black and no one was interested in his murder," she said. "Not long after a young boy was killed in Camden, that was all over the papers, either from the prime minister to whoever, recognising what happened to that young man. "That never happened around Stephen and many other young blacks murdered at that time." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email media@theguardian.com or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication". • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook. theguardian.com © 2014 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds |
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