Met struggles to meet its ethnic quotas

The Metropolitan Police is struggling to meet ethnic recruitment targets imposed after the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, it emerged today.

Under goals set by the Home Office, 7.7 per cent of the 150,000 officers in England and Wales must be from minority ethnic backgrounds by 2009. The Met's target is 25.9 per cent, to reflect the make-up of the population in its area.

But senior officers in Scotland Yard claim it is almost impossible to reach their target and want the Government to renegotiate ahead of the deadline. Martin Tiplady, director of human resources at Scotland Yard, said: "We have not got a hope in hell of getting to 25 per cent."