Metropolitan Police chief Dame Cressida Dick has sparked fury after lobbying the Government for a law change to allow positive discrimination in recruitment.
Dame Cressida wants the force to be able to favour ethnic minority candidates over equally qualified white candidates.
She is calling for the change after emphasising police forces must reflect the communities they serve.
But the move has provoked outrage among Tory MPs who branded the move ‘discrimination against white people’ and called on her to focus on recruiting ‘the best person for the job.’
The Met is currently made up of 18 per cent black and ethnic minority officers, but is aiming to increase this to 40 per cent – the same proportion of black and ethnic minorities in London.
Dame Cressida’s push towards positive discrimination, reported by The Times, has also been backed by Neil Basu, the Met assistant commissioner and a vocal supporter of the force’s need for diversity.
Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said he is ‘more interested in officers who can enforce the law rather than meeting a quota’.
He added: ‘It’s discriminatory the other way. I’m very much of the opinion you have to have policemen who want the job. One volunteer is worth 10 pressed men as they say.
‘The whole thing is ridiculous. It’s not realistic and ultimately it’s policing by consent in this country, the force should reflect the society it is policing.’
