'There is no such thing as unconscious bias', he elaborated. 'I don't buy it. Because after every single unconscious-bias training that has ever been done, nothing's ever improved.' As is the custom nowadays, Michael issued a public apology before tending his resignation. This is a shame because his comments were not that far wide of the mark. As I explore in a new report for Civitas, the anti-racism training industry does little to improve outcomes for BAME people and, worse, breathes new life back into racial thinking.

A review commissioned by the Government Equalities Office to analyse the effectiveness of unconscious-bias training found that 'there is currently no evidence that this training changes behaviour in the long term or improves workplace equality in terms of representation of women, ethnic minorities or other minority groups'. The Harvard Business Review likewise notes that 'even when the training is beneficial, the effects may not last after the programme ends'. Worse still, mounting evidence points to workplace diversity training actually having unintended negative consequences.