The government must not wait for the results of any further race reports to tackle discrimination in the UK, according to former chancellor Sajid Javid, as he disclosed he still encounters racism every day. Javid, the first politician from a Muslim background to hold one of the great offices of state, has urged the prime minister and businesses to make immediate changes to improve diversity. Following the killing of George Floyd in the US and the widespread Black Lives Matters protests in the UK, Boris Johnson announced he would set up an independent Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities in June – the sixth review into discrimination since 2014. It follows a series of reports or inquiries set up by Johnson and his predecessors, which have thus far seen little response in the way of policy. Critics have said there is still a backlog of recommendations from earlier reports that need to be introduced. “We shouldn’t be waiting for the commission to do its job and thinking ‘there’s nothing to do now, let’s wait for the commission, then we can follow what it says’. “Because we cannot afford to wait,” Javid said in a discussion on racial equality by thinktank British Future. The prime minister personally announcing the review was significant, he suggested, as was home secretary Priti Patel’s recent response to the Windrush Lessons Learned review by Wendy Williams, where she set out five reforms including training and recruitment at the department. However, asked whether this latest review would lead to any meaningful change, he said: “In terms of how profound this commission can be to change the culture … I’d love to think there will be lots of different really big important things. I’m going to wait and see and not judge it too early on.” Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch MP will oversee the review, which is being led by educational consultant and charity founder Tony Sewell. He was forced to make a public apology last week after the Guardian unearthed controversial comments he made in the Voice newspaper after footballer Justin Fashanu disclosed he was gay in 1990. There was also criticism when it emerged Downing Street’s director of policy Munira Mirza had been asked to set it up. She has previously been sceptical of discussions around institutional racism. Javid, who is the son of Pakistani Muslim immigrants, said: “Like many people of colour, I faced racism in my life. I still face racism every day. “If you look at my social media feed after this seminar you can see lots of people making racist comments about me. You get used to it, but we shouldn’t have to.” Changes the government could make immediately include putting greater pressure on businesses to make sure there is diversity right across their workforce, he added. “The more people you have that have come from different backgrounds … that will inevitably help the change that organisation and the culture.” He said Theresa May’s Race Disparity Audit had also provided invaluable information on diversity and levels of pay across different employment sectors and was part of the data available to government.