He was at the forefront of challenging institutional racism in organisations and was an advocate on behalf of individuals from disadvantaged and deprived backgrounds.

[3] He was educated at William Penn School and at Catford College, where he gained a diploma in municipal administration.

From 1981, he served as principal race relations adviser and head of the Greater London Council's Ethnic Minority Unit.

He was a council member for the Institute of Relations, a think tank focused on challenging injustices and inequalities.

[3][16] Ouseley was made a Knight Bachelor in the 1997 New Year Honours for "services to community relations and local government",[17] and was made a life peer as Baron Ouseley, of Peckham Rye in the London Borough of Southwark on 26 June 2001.