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The constantly used word "racist" has no objective definition or legal meaning. Behaviour has to be proven to be racially motivated or racially aggravated. The recommendation of the McPherson report – that "an incident is racist if the victim or any other person thinks it is" – has introduced a subjective and damaging element into social practice as well as law. With perhaps good intentions, it is promoting conflict by racialising it whatever the context.

In real life, there are bound to be conflicts between tenants. Noise is often a problem, as George Tzilivakis points out in the same issue (page 27). Conflict is inevitable if a shift worker is kept awake by somebody who never works. Different cultures have conflicting viewpoints on acceptable levels of noise. Which should prevail? Sometimes people just do not like each other. The mere fact that the protagonists are from different ethnicities does not necessarily make it a racial conflict.

Matthew Gitsham is encouraging housing workers to conflate accusation with evidence. It is the constant attempt to racialise any incident that is the root of the problem.

Such practices are more likely to create than resolve the growing level of inter-ethnic conflict and ignores conflict within ethnic, faith or identity groups.