Council bans white candidates from training programme

A council has banned white people from applying for an £18,000-a-year traineeship because it wants to boost staff diversity. The two-year scheme at Bristol City Council is only open to candidates from black or ethnic minority backgrounds because the "normal recruitment process was not rectifying" under-representation.

The authority said the programme, which takes on two people a year, is lawful under race relations legislation because it is only a traineeship and does not guarantee a job at the end of it. But one white jobseeker, who did not want to be named, said it was "totally racist" and would have been "an excellent opportunity for me to make use of the skills and qualifications that I have acquired".



He added: "But being white I am excluded from applying for the post. Surely equal opportunities means giving everyone an equal chance to succeed rather than discriminating against people because of the colour of their skin."

Tory MP Philip Davies, who campaigns against political correctness, said: "It is an utter outrage and the council should be hanging its head in shame. They are pushing the boundaries of what the law was intended to do. They should be offering all positions to the best person and that should be open to everyone equally. It is the kind of political correctness that builds up resentment that would not otherwise exist."