The Tory leader says the public sector duty to consider minorities encourages division – but legal experts say abolishing it will fuel discrimination

For more than two decades, an important part of Britain’s equality laws ensured public institutions had to think about the impact their decisions could have on different groups in society.

Introduced after the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the public sector equality duty required public bodies – such as local councils, police forces and hospitals – to think proactively about equality law. Now this once uncontroversial public duty is a new battleground in Britain’s culture wars.

Tory leader takes aim at police guidance and says more black boys searched means more black lives saved

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Kemi Badenoch has argued that Britain took a wrong turn after the landmark Macpherson report into the racist killing of Stephen Lawrence, and said that it didn’t matter how many young black boys were stopped and searched by police.

The Conservative leader made the comments as she announced plans to scrap the obligation on public bodies to consider how they can promote equality as she seeks to head off the challenge to her party from Reform UK.

Athlete Hannah Babalola says she was told to use the toilet without an aisle chair or leave Cape Town to Amsterdam flight

The Dutch airline KLM has offered “sincere apologies” to a Paralympic athlete who was denied access to an onboard wheelchair during a long-haul flight so she could go to the toilet.

The cabin crew on the flight later called the police after the request from Hannah Babalola, 37, who is paraplegic and competes in track events, for the wheelchair, known as an aisle chair as it is narrow enough to be used inside a plane. They first handed her a written notice, headed: “Unacceptable conduct and final warning on behalf of the captain of this plane.”