From tragedy to division: lessons to be learnt for a more inclusive Britain

(13 November 2025, London)

Today marks the tenth anniversary of the devastating terrorist attacks at the Bataclan concert venue in Paris, and nearly twenty years since the London bombings of 7 July 2005. Both attacks indiscriminately maimed and killed citizens of these metropolitan beacons of diversity. Yet, as Jabeer Butt argues, the political response to the London attack scapegoated and further victimised entire minoritised ethnic communities.

Speaking with Emeline Vin for Radio France Internationale (RFI)’s renowned Grand Reportage, Jabeer Butt OBE, Chief Executive of the Race Equality Foundation, described the horror of the blind violence of the 7/7 attacks and the sadly predictable, divisive measures that followed. What began as a moment of national grief evolved into a narrative that alienated minoritised ethnic communities–a narrative that continues to shape public policy and trust today.

From shared tragedy to division: policy failures and their legacy

Jabeer recalled commuting into Euston on the morning of 7/7 and witnessing the chaos as people exited King’s Cross station covered in soot and blood. The attacks were an indiscriminate act of violence, targeting Londoners of every background, age, and denomination.

So why, in the aftermath, did government and media narratives tell a different story?
Government rhetoric increasingly framed the problem as rooted within one community—British Muslims—compounding their grief with suspicion and exclusion. Jabeer reflected that 7/7 marked the moment when Islamophobia became normalised. The government’s decision to cease dialogue with the Muslim Council of Britain, a coalition working to strengthen civic participation, sent a damaging signal that an entire community was being held responsible for the actions of a few.

Policy choices that deepened mistrust

Rather than addressing the structural causes of violence, policy initiatives deepened the pain and mistrust felt in the aftermath:

• Engagement with Muslim civil society groups ceased, creating distance rather than solidarity.
• Rhetoric around “British values” and integration effectively declared an end to multiculturalism, suggesting diversity itself was the problem.
• Prevent, the government’s flagship counter-extremism policy, labelled young people instead of supporting them–disproportionately targeting Muslim boys while ignoring wider drivers of violence among young men.
• Policy overlooked Britain’s diverse, mosaic culture, where racial and economic disparities drive division. Issues such as gated communities and unequal access to green spaces cause far more societal division than cultural or religious differences.
• Lack of preventative violence-protection strategy: mosques and minority communities were left unprotected, despite being frequent targets of retaliatory violence.

The cost of normalising racism

The 7/7 response set a precedent that allowed Islamophobia to become normalised. Acts of racialised violence–such as the pulling of hijabs, verbal and physical abuse–often went unreported as trust in institutions eroded. Institutional indifference to racism sent a clear message that some forms of violence are taken seriously, while others are not.

A public health approach to violence

The Race Equality Foundation calls for a public health approach to tackling violence–whether political, racial, or terror-related–that addresses its root causes rather than criminalising communities.

This means:

• Dismantling clear policy failures, such as the failed Prevent strategy, which disproportionately scrutinises young Muslim men and does not address the root causes of violence from all communities. Latest reports indicate that while extreme right-wing ideology now accounts for the largest share of identified referrals, Asian communities–particularly young Muslim men–remain disproportionately represented in Prevent cases, revealing a persistent disconnect between actual threat patterns and referral practices (Home Office: User Guide to Individuals Referred to and Supported Through the Prevent Programme, England and Wales, 6 November 2025).
• Investing in belonging: creating initiatives that highlight cross-community similarities (for example, through the Race Equality Foundation’s Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities programme) and emphasise shared national pride. Belonging is not abstract–it can be purposefully built through shared experiences of pride and unity.

Building a safer, fairer Britain through belonging

As outlined in our 2025 report Understanding the Racist Riots of 2024 and What Should Be Done, the UK continues to witness the consequences of ignoring structural inequality. The failure to address racism, disinvestment, and mistrust in institutions risks new waves of violence.

From 7/7 to the racist riots of 2024, the message remains clear. When governments fail to engage with communities and confront structural inequality, the pain of violence can deepen rather than heal. Inclusive racially just policies are not only vital to ensuring all British citizens thrive and can contribute to society–they are critical to fostering belonging and resilience in the aftermath of tragedy.

A safer, fairer Britain depends on rejecting the framing of minority communities as victims or threats, and instead centring anti-racist action and evidence-based policy in every response to violence and terrorism. Above all, a better Britain must be built on belonging–ensuring that every citizen, regardless of faith or background, feels equally part of our shared future.

You can listen to Jabeer’s feature in the broadcast here, at 10:42: https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/grand-reportage/20251110-royaume-uni-le-7-juillet-2005-20-ans-plus-tard-des-blessures-toujours-%C3%A0-vif

For our thoughts on how to prevent widespread racialised violence, you can read 2025 report here: Understanding the Racist Riots of 2024 and What Should Be Done