I want to discriminate against white candidates, says police chief
A chief constable accused of having a 'racist' recruitment policy has said he wants discrimination against white British candidates to be legal.
Chief Constable John Robins, the head of West Yorkshire Police, said the law should be changed in order to boost the number of ethnic minorities in his force and across the country.
It comes as the force faces a backlash for putting a temporary block on the hiring of white candidates – a move that could potentially amount to positive discrimination, which is currently illegal in England and Wales.
In a move likely to fuel fresh tensions, Mr Robins said he stood by previous comments that 'legislation should change' so that forces were free to positively discriminate in favour of ethnic minorities.
A spokesman said: 'The Chief Constable's position has not changed. It is a national view that he holds.'
Neil O'Brien, Conservative MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston, said: 'What West Yorkshire police are doing with their racist hiring policies and division of different ethnic groups is skirting the edge of the law. It is no surprise to discover they have been pushing for the law to be changed to legalise these racist hiring policies.
'With gun crime in West Yorkshire at a record high, many people might think local police might have more important things to be focusing on.'
Positive discrimination, which has historically been popular in the US, is when a minority candidate is given preferential treatment when applying for a job rather than being judged on merit. This can range all the way to only allowing candidates from a particular minority group to apply for a role.
Mr Robins argued in 2023 that positive discrimination in favour of Catholics had succeeded in boosting their representation in the Northern Ireland police service after the Good Friday Agreement.
He said: 'It worked in terms of religion in Northern Ireland. We've tried really, really hard over many decades, especially in the last five to 10 years, but there's just systemic issues around applications. I think the time has now come that legislation should change so that we should [use] positive discrimination.'
He stressed that this would involve 'no change in [the] standard of recruitment' and would give people from under-represented groups the best opportunity to find employment.
This week, The Telegraph disclosed that West Yorkshire Police has delayed white British candidates from applying for jobs as recruits to its police constable entry programmes. As part of the temporary policy, 'under-represented groups' can lodge their applications early.
The force admitted on its website that, because of a lack of ethnic minority officers, it accepts 'applications all year round from these under-represented groups' but that white British candidates must wait until 'our recruitment process is open'.
A whistleblower has claimed that black and far-east Asian candidates were considered particularly under-represented and given a gold ranking, followed by those of south-east Asian origin who were in the silver tier. 'White others', including candidates from Irish and eastern European backgrounds, were bronze.
West Yorkshire Police stresses that nine per cent of its officers are from an ethnic minority background 'while 23 per cent of people in West Yorkshire are from these communities'.
Posting on X, Liz Truss, the former prime minister, wrote: 'Britain has a serious problem with police leadership being ideologically captured and pursuing anti-white discrimination. Ministers should have to answer for this and take back the powers to do so.
'Also, Conservatives should have repealed the Equality Act, something I advocated at the time. A lot required to end two-tier Britain.'
While positive discrimination is illegal England and Wales, 'positive action' is permitted. All hiring must be done on merit.
The Telegraph has found that at least five forces have reacted to this by giving candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds 'bespoke' coaching before they go to job interviews.
Asked whether Mr Robins' support for positive discrimination suggested the force may have knowingly breached the law with its policy, the police spokesman said it did not.
He said: 'This does not change our position. While the opportunity to apply remains open to certain groups, no applications are progressed to interview stage until the main recruitment window opens. All applications are assessed against the criteria at the same time, in a fair and transparent manner.'
Mr Robins has been an officer in West Yorkshire Police for the past 34 years after being recruited as a constable in 1990. He has worked in a number of different roles, including a long period spent as a trained hostage negotiator dealing with suicide interventions, kidnaps and criminal sieges.
In 2014, he became the temporary Dept Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, leading on professional standards, ethics and equality.
Five years later, he was awarded the top job in the force, as well as being awarded the Queens Police Medal for distinguished service.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has this week resisted demands from the Tories to end the use of the positive action policy, saying West Yorkshire Police was complying with 'fair recruitment standards'.
However, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, called the policy 'disgraceful', saying: 'People should be treated equally and given equal opportunities. To reject or delay applications just because of someone's skin colour is morally wrong.'
Former Tory home secretaries echoed the criticism, with Suella Braverman urging Ms Cooper to get rid of 'dangerous' and 'racist' inequalities from police forces.
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