Trevor Phillips: You Ask The Questions

The chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission answers your questions, such as 'Will we have a black PM?' and 'Do we need a commission for short people?'

Don't commissions like yours just create a feeling of perpetual victimhood among minorities? M Swaminathan, by email

No. Most people from minorities feel safer knowing there is a body they can appeal to if they experience discrimination.

Did you obtain your position because you're black and not on merit? M Willis, Hednesford

No. I (and several other candidates) went though a rigorous selection process (conducted by an independent board) – which included psychological tests, and four interviews, one with the Secretary of State.

Three decades of pro-equality activism and journalism (most of which was not about race) might have counted for something too.

As a minorities champion, won't you condemn Tory vice-chairman Sayeeda Warsi's remarks that the BNP have 'legitimate views' on immigration? Trish Leon, by email

Immigration is good for our society and vital to our prosperity. But progressive people I respect, like John Cruddas MP, point out that ordinary working-class people – of all races – are unsettled by the impact of post-Windrush migration. After a generation of neglect, some poorer communities, where many migrants settle, have to cope with under-resourced and unmodernised schools, housing and transport infrastructure. It would be arrogant to dismiss the feelings of people to whom the daily frictions of diversity are more apparent than its long-term benefits. I'm concerned about the exploitation of migrant workers and the scandal of human trafficking. And then there's the inevitable effect of the daily media barrage against immigration. So I have no argument with Baroness Warsi's central thrust. Her error was to suggest that the only voters who matter are those who vote BNP. Their anxieties have to be confronted, not appeased. Whatever the question these voters think matters, the BNP's slippery racism and Muslim baiting certainly isn't the answer.

How long before we have a black Prime Minister? Scott Patrick, by email

Too long.

I'm black, I don't want a special commission making sure I'm OK. Isn't it patronising? Bakani Zondi, London

Luckily for both of us, the new Equality and Human Rights Commission [which replaced the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE), Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission on 1 October] doesn't exist entirely for your personal benefit. We work, not for special interests, but in everyone's interests.

What was the last time you got racially abused? Carlos Hernandez, Fulham, London

To my knowledge, last week.

What did the CRE actually achieve, other than using up huge amounts of public money? Laurence Harris, Hertfordshire

When the CRE's time came to an end, the argument was not, as in 1976, "Why do we need this" – but "How can we be sure that its successor will do as good a job?" There could be no greater testament to its success over the years.

What's the last CD you listened to? Be honest. Helen Carpenter, Exeter

Don't take my word for it, this is what's on my iPod: Shakespeare by Peter Ackroyd, read by Simon Callow; The Score, by The Fugees – I never thought anyone could do better than the original "No Woman, No Cry", but miraculously Wyclef Jean has transformed it into a 21st century anthem for the dispossessed.

Do you think you 'pander to the right' like Ken Livingstone said? Nat B, London

No. Check out the far-right websites and see what they think. The Mayor is too smart to genuinely believe anything so absurd, so I assume that he was misinformed as to my views.

Isn't there's a real anti-intellectualism in black culture in this country? Judy Winslow, by email

First, as Voltaire might have said, define your terms. Are we talking about the high culture represented by Black Britons like Chris Ofili, Steve McQueen, Zadie Smith, Courtney Pine, Grant Marshall (aka Daddy G), Thandie Newton, Lola Young or Stuart Hall? Or the deeply felt belief, strong families and vibrant music of the popular black majority churches? Or do you mean the degraded borrowings from the US which the entertainment industry peddles as "black culture", and which too many white liberals embrace as the "authentic" voice of black communities? The first two voices are seldom heard; the latter is always amplified to paint black people as violent, misogynistic and ignorant.

Britain isn't a multicultural society, it's full of single culture ghettos. Haven't you failed? Paula Jacobs, Manchester

I know that my reputation as the Man Who Murdered Multiculturalism goes before me, but let me try once again to set this in context. We have the makings of an integrated society in the UK; we've achieved this again and again over the centuries. But we face an enormous, historically unprecedented challenge.

Past migration has been of the Windrush type – one stream at a time, usually from one area – European Jews or Huguenots, British Caribbean or East African subjects and so forth. Today we face a series of simultaneous waves of migrants from all over the world coming for different reasons; and because of globalisation this will probably accelerate for a generation. This is good for our culture and our economy; but only if we manage the process well. Our task at the Commission will be to help people understand how they can make the diversity of our society a source of energy and prosperity, not a cause for friction and inequality.

Are the police still institutionally racist? Mary Porter, Southwark, London

The CRE's 2005 investigation into the police forces in England, Wales and Scotland, following the BBC's "Secret Policeman" film, has made a great impact on how they behave. But clearly, there remains systemic bias in most institutions, including police forces.

If you were a newspaper editor, would you have published the Danish cartoon of the prophet? Khalid Ali, Leicester

Unlikely, because none of them was funny. I like and support satire, and believe that we should all be ready to laugh at ourselves; but if you know you're going to cause offence, you'd better have a good reason. In this case, it did not fit the purpose.

Should [radical Islamist organisation] Hizb ut-Tahrir be banned? O Shah, London, E3

In my view, that would be pointless. They would only appear in another guise. Our energies should go into combating isolationist and anti-integration propaganda.

You say you like to ask 'hard questions' about multiculturalism. So isn't it just a fact that most terrorism is committed by Muslims? John Taylor, by email

It is not a fact that most terrorism is committed by Muslims. Ask the relatives of those who died in the Oklahoma bombing, in Northern Ireland, Peru or Chechnya if they were the victims of Muslims; I think you'll get a pretty dusty answer. And I haven't even mentioned the anti-abortion or animal liberation extremists.

There's a small minority of people who profess the faith of Islam who are prepared to commit terrorist acts, but this should not be used to tar all Muslims with the same brush, or to suggest that they are the only people today who carry out terrorist activity.

Isn't Islamophobia a myth perpetuated by those who want influence over Britain's Islamic community? Ruth Osbourne, by email

No. You only have to look at statistics from the Home Office or Crown Prosecution Service on hate crime. And there are grim, real-life stories which show that this brand of hatred is violent and irrational.

Will new groups spring up to represent the interests of the individual groups that have been subsumed into your huge empire? David Wright, by email

I hope so. One of our priorities is to support streams of independent advocacy. But we want to go further than that and provide support for voices that were stifled because of the old-style divisions between equality strands – for example, children, trans-people; and minorities within minorities, like people with disabilities within the lesbian and gay community.

Why on earth does the government and media still deal with the Muslim Council of Britain? Manpreet S, by email

Because it represents substantial swathes of UK Muslim opinion. In a liberal democracy, the path to understanding and progress is a dialogue between everyone prepared to play by the rules, whether we agree with their views or not.

How will your new combined agency be able to represent the interests of the largest disadvantaged group of all: women? Charlotte Waye, Brighton

First, by using all of the tools and experience inherited from our predecessors at the Equal Opportunities Commission. Second, our overlapping mandate will help us to focus on some of the specific equality deficits disproportionately facing some kinds of women more powerfully. Third, by focusing on the destructive effect of domestic violence. Fourth, by not treating women as a quasi-minority group who have to be appeased. Instead we will look for ways of making our communities and workplaces genuinely gender-neutral.

Why was there no room at the CRE for a representative from one of the Central European minorities? Do some minorities have more rights than others? Wiktor Moszczynski, London, W5

The Commissioners were appointed by Ministers not by the chair. But it's wrong to suggest that people from European minorities were treated less fairly by the CRE. For example, much of our effort in the past few years went into raising the profile of the discrimination faced by Roma people. But in the end, Commissioners were not (and are not in the new Commission) appointed to represent specific communities. We do not work for special interests, but in everybody's interests.

Should we have a commission for people from small, poor towns? How about short people? Where does it end? Simon Drudge, by email

Don't be silly. Though of course, if you could demonstrate that there was a systematic bias against people in any of these categories we'd be on your side.

You were good mates with Blair. How's your relationship with Brown? Duncan Inson, Harrow

I'm sure the previous PM would be surprised to hear our relationship described that way...

It's vital for the Commission's chair to have an open door to senior ministers. If you have the advantage of having known them for a long time, it makes it all the easier to be blunt and honest when you disagree.

Would you still like to be London mayor one day? Gillian Rawsley, by email

It looks as though London will have a fine choice of candidates.

As a former NUS president, are you against top-up fees for students? Daniel Hall, by email

Yes, I'm against tuition fees full stop.

You worked with Peter Mandelson. Any funny stories? Henry Ellis, by email

Loads. Shame I haven't got time to tell you them.