Sunak rejected claims that Britain is a racist country.
Rishi Sunak has broken his silence on national identity, insisting he is “British, English and British Asian” after remarks questioned whether minorities can claim Englishness.
The former prime minister addressed the issue while giving evidence to the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion, co-chaired by Sajid Javid and Jon Cruddas.
Sunak appeared keen to draw a line under a controversy sparked by figures on the political right questioning race, religion and national belonging.
Podcaster Konstantin Kisin first claimed Sunak was not English because he is a “brown-skinned Hindu”, comments that triggered widespread backlash.
The argument was later echoed by Reform MP Suella Braverman, who reportedly questioned whether being born in England automatically makes someone English.
Reform UK candidate Matthew Goodwin also declined to distance himself from similar remarks, allowing the debate to escalate further.
Born in Southampton to Indian parents, Sunak said he found the tone of the discussion troubling and deeply personal.
He reflected on the racist abuse he and his siblings experienced while growing up, describing those memories as “seared” into his mind.
While acknowledging progress, Sunak warned against complacency and said racism must never be normalised.
“I definitely wouldn’t want us to slip back into a world where racist language was heard regularly on the street,” he reportedly told the commission.
Sunak outlined a layered understanding of identity, rejecting the idea that different identities must clash.
“We’re all British,” he said, adding that people can hold multiple identities “alongside that” without conflict.
He listed his own as “British, British Asian, British Hindu, English”, also calling himself a Sotonian and an apprentice Yorkshireman.
The remarks directly challenged suggestions that ethnicity or religion undermines national identity.
Sunak also referenced Sajid Javid’s experiences of racism in 1970s Rochdale, detailed in Javid’s memoir.
He said those stories show identity debates are long-standing for British Asians.
The commission is facilitated by the Together Coalition, founded by Brendan Cox, widower of Labour MP Jo Cox.
That backdrop adds weight to concerns about increasingly divisive rhetoric and its real-world consequences.
Rishi Sunak criticised what he described as “shock jockery” in modern media culture.
He warned that the attention economy rewards those who use “provocative, bigoted language” to generate clicks and headlines.
On immigration, Sunak admitted tensions had been building and expressed regret about not acting sooner while in office.
Referencing street violence in 2024, he said it showed “something has gone wrong” in Britain’s social fabric.
He added that Islamist extremists and the far right were “feeding off each other”.
Despite this, Sunak rejected claims that Britain is a racist country.
He pointed to his own rise to Downing Street and Sajid Javid’s senior roles as examples of opportunity.
Rishi Sunak also noted that his successor as Conservative leader is “a Black woman who grew up in Nigeria”.
His comments follow remarks by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who warned against equating Britishness with whiteness.
The rare overlap suggests growing concern that debates around identity may be moving into more dangerous territory.
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