Call for black police boycott 'has failed'

A CALL by a black police group for a recruitment boycott of the Met has failed to have any effect, it was claimed today.

Senior Scotland Yard officials said the number of applications to join the force from people from ethnic minorities had not fallen since the appeal was made earlier this month by the Metropolitan Black Police Association.

The association claims the Met is still beset with institutional racism that prevents ethnic minority officers from advancing through the ranks.

Today Martin Tiplady, the force's director of human resources, said: "We have been recruiting between one in five and one in four applicants from ethnic minorities and that is holding up."

The Met is facing one of the worst race rows in its history. It has seen Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur and Commander Ali Dizaei suspended, and outgoing Commissioner Sir Ian Blair denounced as a racist, a claim he denies.