The petition's growth still astounds us and warms our hearts. Thank you for all standing with us in the face of ongoing denigration and constant dismissal of the racist comments made in and by the media.

We stand with all Black, Brown, Indigenous and racialised groups who face this unrelenting onslaught of cultural mockery and degradation, and are still hopeful we can shift the needle to create more inclusive and thoughtful newsrooms.

We wrote this open letter and started this petition because of our upset and anger at the targeted violence our community is experiencing, and how the mass media feeds into this. We do not condone the same violence and threats being directed at Christina Lamb in response to our work.

In line with our vision for a society where nobody suffers any form of white supremacist patriarchal violence, we are seeking a justice that is transformative, not punitive. Violence is the reason for our anger, and we choose to channel our anger into calling for change, rather than further violence. 

Upon seeing that Christina Lamb had released a statement we were hopeful she had recognised the harm caused and taken responsibility for it. We were unfortunately disappointed. 

The statement - shared only on Facebook to an audience of just under 4,000, and not yet shared with her 66,000 Twitter followers - reads: 

"Some of you may be aware of the social media outrage over a phrase in my report on Prince Philip’s funeral on Sunday that was interpreted as condoning racism so I want to post the apology I made publicly in an event yesterday.

"I am absolutely horrified at what's happened. I'm so sorry. The absolute last thing I would ever want to do is offend people or condone a racist comment - my whole career has been about caring and exposing injustice. I am the last person who would do anything like that. I was trying to make a general point about Prince Phillip, that he didn't care about conventions and many people liked that. I really regret the choice of words. I was not speaking for the British public.

I must also say I have been horrified at the reaction. I'm not sure what it says about our society that people apparently think it's okay to respond with unrepeatable abuse to me, my husband, mother and son as well as death threats.

All I can say is that I'm terribly sorry".

Disappointingly, this statement merely includes the words “I’m so sorry”, but echoes The Sunday Times non-apology, lacking any substantial self-reflection, interrogation, and acknowledgment of responsibility for actions which have caused harm. It is also troubling to see that she conflates covering stories of injustice with being unable to perpetrate racism. 

Christina Lamb has focussed solely on her emotions and reputation. She does not take responsibility for her words and phrasing or speak to the community she has harmed, with the deflection that it is about the audience and their “interpretation”. 

We question why an author and writer cannot adequately portray her thoughts, and why a series of editorial staff did not question her apparently clumsy language.  

Intending to share the belief that  people liked Prince Philip's indifference to convention - i.e. his many unacceptable comments - still does not justify the line: “Prince Philip was the longest-serving royal consort in British history – an often crotchety figure, offending people with gaffes about slitty eyes, even if secretly we rather enjoyed them.”  

It may have been careless phrasing, but it is even more myopic to believe repeating a specific "gaffe" was appropriate and necessary.

We must reiterate again that intent does not outweigh impact, which is serious harm to the global ESEA community. 

With the above in mind, we cannot say that the asks of this petition have been met.

We are seeking a published retraction and an apology, neither of which have occurred.

If you are a subscriber to The Sunday Times we ask you to call and unsubscribe with the explicit explanation that you do not condone their printing of racism. You can do this by calling 0800 068 4965

Share your unsubscription and push others to join you by using the hashtag #UnsubscribeTheTimes and tagging us on instagram @esea.sisters

We still are yet to be contacted directly by any parties involved, and do welcome a conversation to offer them the chance to hear from us why these throwaway lines are anything but insignificant.

We hope Christina Lamb, Emma Tucker, and The Sunday Times read this update and can reflect on what we have said, and practice the humility required to create substantive change in the media portrayal of racialised bodies and stories.

As they prepare their Sunday 25th edition, we urge them to remember that no racial group should lose their lives for simply existing.

If you would like to speak to us, please contact us via Instagram @esea.sisters

Thank you.