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Gay, lesbian and transgender officers are being sought to help guard the Queen under a new drive to employ minorities.
The Metropolitan Police has posted an advertisement inviting "special groups" to apply to protect the royal family at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral.
The recruitment notice, posted internally within the Met, states: "Applications are particularly welcomed from women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and black and minority ethnic communities/people as these are under-represented."
Critics have accused the Met of bowing to political correctness. Former Met commander John O'Connor said: "From a political correctness point of view, it's just window dressing.
"These are terrible jobs which no one wants to do. What could be more soul-destroying than to sit in a rusty old sentry box for hours on end?"
Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire, said: "This is absolutely ludicrous. What's wrong with just employing the best for the job?"
There are about 30 vacancies in the royalty protection branch, known as SO14. Candidates must be trained in firearms and will be offered salaries between £28,605 and £41,208.
A Met spokesman said: "We want to recruit the best people from London's many different communities."
Reader views (38)
"Queens to guard the queen" - The Sun's headlines scream at me already. Yup, a standard bit of text in recruitment. As a gay man, I wouldn't want a job just because my sexuality swung it for me. But it is nice to see the inclusion message. (although the other standard " We do not discriminate on any grounds [then a long list!] would have done just as good a job)
- Richard, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, 24/09/2009 04:12
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I was all set to comment that this is a nonsense article designed to catch the eye of auto-shock/horror commentators - then I read Sarah Bradshaw's comment. It's not that what she said is intrinsically wrong - that's the trouble with the leftie wish-list. They are based upon the IDEA of fairness (even if such are used politically to buy allegiance) - but LEGISLATED fairness is lop-sided! You don't bring about fair-mindedness by imposing it, you do so by persuasion. To do otherwise instills resentment and, ultimately, resistance and back-lash.
Little Hitlers who joyfully enforce these otherwise reasonable sounding "wouldn't it be nice" policies seem more often than not to only see the words and not the social intent. Gleefully trampling over the sensibilities of everyone else in their compliance with the central soviet's point of view inevitabley ALIENATES far more people than it can ever attract.
The people doing the hiring, or more likely official drones over-seeing the hiring, would use this as an excuse to EXCLUDE otherwise suitable candidates because they were NOT one of the select few 'minorities'. Such people think that somehow 'exclusion' and 'inclusion' are happy bed-fellows rather than opposites.
- Rogan, Irving, 24/09/2009 03:19
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This encapsulates everything that is wrong with our rubbish police force. A once respected institution; now regarded with contempt.
- Terence Patrick Hewett, southampton, 23/09/2009 22:18
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This story was bound to bring the bigots crawling out from underneath their stones venting their ignorant hatreds and prejudices like lumbering old dinosaurs! The police are merely encouraging good people from all walks of life to apply for these posts - the entry critieria and standards are the same. What on earth is wrong for any organisation to want the best people whether they be black or gay or whatever? This is not political correctness it is good employment policy.
- Thomas, London, 23/09/2009 22:16
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Cool, so any male officer who wants to get ahead in the interview process should possibly turn up wearing a police woman's uniform.
This still reads as positive discrimination & surely the best candidates should get the job.
- Joseph Malik, London, 23/09/2009 20:33
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Our Queen deserves proper police officers not some poltical gamers.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London, 23/09/2009 20:04
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I worked for many years for a Council in South London. There was always the feeling that if you were not a "one legged black single parent lesbian" there was no need to apply for an interview You did not stand a chance, especially if you were a white male in your forties. ALL people should be interviewed on whether they are the most suitable person for the post being advertised, not on colour,or sexual gender. Some of the best people I ever worked with were not "white English".
Amber in Mitcham
- Amber In Mitcham, Mitcham Surrey, 23/09/2009 19:48
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The political correct idiocy you guys have stooped to cracks me up.
- Derek Marlowe, pago pago, 23/09/2009 19:45
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The Met (along with other Police Forces - I refuse to call it a "service" - would be better employing people who were good at the job of policing, rather than what they looked like, what their religions were, what their sexual orientations were.
Whatever happened to thieftakers in the Met? And whatever happened to preventing crime and keeping the Queen's Peace?
- Anil Chatterjee, Manchester, 23/09/2009 19:17
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£41,208 to sit in a rusty old sentry box? Where do I sign up?!
- Mayday, Wales, 23/09/2009 19:08
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As a former London teacher I experienced the problem with this ideology that often incompetents are appointed to posts which they are unqualified for. The result is that a demoralised staff , constantly faced with puting things 'right' , and furthermore taking the blame for their superior's mistakes , become totally discouraged , and so respond by doing as little as possible. This phenomena has yet to be discovered by the 'intellectual media' but there is an abundance of evidence in the likes of former communist countries where party membership was the main criteria for senior posts.
- Chris M, morbihan,france, 23/09/2009 19:02
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How do we know they are 'under-represented'? Do we have any hard figures for the proportion of the population as a whole who are lbgt? No, because it's not a question included in the census, so we have no benchmark to rate the proportion of applicants against.
- Kitty, London, 23/09/2009 17:18
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I don't want some second rate shoe in either, James. Give 'em some welly - boot out all the shoes forthwith !!
- Chris, London, 23/09/2009 17:06
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"drive to employ minorities"
Lesbian, gay and transgender. How do you validate that these people are indeed what they say they are? Anyone can claim to be something that can not be proved. All the people in the mental hospitals can claim to be one of these groups and receive all the benefits and special considerations these groups are entitled to. Who is to prove they are not members?
Prisoners, clergy, monks, bartenders, hotel clerks on and on.
- Pegasis 4:2, Luxembourg, 23/09/2009 16:06
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How short people's memories are. The Queen had a superb bodyguard, who, several years ago, when some vile scurrilous rag discoverd he was gay, was literally hounded out of his job, not by The Queen, but by some ignorant scumbag journalist. With the trashy PC brigade encouraged by this rubbish governement in full feather, it's bound to happen again.
- Minority Working Person, London/England, 23/09/2009 16:05
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Several years ago I realised that the top brass in TV cop shows were either female or coloured. I felt sorry then for the WASP young male officer, but now I can only guess they're almost extinct in the Met and only females, ethnic minorities and those of a particular sexual persuasion need apply.
I also have distant memories of a time when free speech was a major factor in live in Britain.
- George, Cambridge UK, 23/09/2009 15:40
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"To anyone who is misguided or naive enough not to fully realise what this means - having an equal opportunities policy means that provided the applicants fit the basic criteria of the job spec then they are guaranteed an interview."
Nice to see you know Equal Opportunities legislation. That's completely wrong. Equal Ops rules mean that you can't discriminate against anyone because of their race/sexuality/religion/gender etc. It does not guarantee someone of these minorities an interview, rather it guarantees them the opportunity to have their applications fairly assessed instead of just chucked in a bin. surely that is a good thing. If an organisation wishes to misunderstand these rules (which are patently clear), then that is their problem.
The only time a candidate is guaranteed an interview is if through an optional guaranteed interview for disabled applicants scheme where, should the disabled candidate meet the basic criteria of the job, then they are guaranteed an interview (note, not the job).
Equal opportunities legislation is a good thing given that there are still some pockets of resistance to such change. As far as I'm concerned, interviews should still be meritocratic and not tokenistic, but equal ops is definitely a step in the right direction.
How would you feel if you applied for a job but someone said 'No, we won't even bother with her application because she's a woman.'
- Darren, London, UK, 23/09/2009 15:18
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"Black, gay, lesbian and transgender" members of the royal family are even less well represented. Maybe we should invite applications to marry Harry and Wills?
- Paul, London, 23/09/2009 15:03
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Sarah Bradshaw, Middlesex - you're either a fool, or someone who is not very good at getting jobs.
I am white British, male, lower middle class, in my 30s and have never had any problems getting a job for a local authority (I've worked for 7 of them so far including one in East London).
If you don't get a job, it's nothing to do with any equal opps policy, it's because you're not good enough.
Try going back learning some people skills - they work wonders at interviews you know.
- Liberal And Proud, London, UK, 23/09/2009 15:03
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Welcome to the world of New Labour.
- Shallotman, Basildon, 23/09/2009 14:39
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I would love to hear Prince Philip's comments!!!!
- Mike, Brighton, 23/09/2009 14:32
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Sarah Bradshaw is wrong in what she says. This is not positive discrimination. Positive discrimination is unlawful in the UK. They are just sending out a message that they do not discriminate, which is a good thing. If a heterosexual person with better qualifications was turned down in favour of a gay person with worse qualifications, this would be unlawful discrimination. So the best people will get the jobs, regardless of whether they are straight, gay or whatever, they are just encouraging a wider pool of selection.
- Matt, London, UK, 23/09/2009 13:51
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What's next; Midgets, the blind and handicapped guards? Positive discrimination at its best or shall we dare say those ROTTEN words polictical correctness.
- Brandon Thomas, SW7, 23/09/2009 13:32
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Why spend millions on guarding mere ornaments which we can well do without.Dont hey cost us enough as it is.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK, 23/09/2009 13:22
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To anyone who is misguided or naive enough not to fully realise what this means - having an equal opportunities policy means that provided the applicants fit the basic criteria of the job spec then they are guaranteed an interview. If there's more than one person of that minority who fit the basic criteria then you can easily end up with ALL the interviewees being there being chosen ahead of anyone who doesn't tick the minority box. This means that if you are white, heterosexual and able-bodied there is no point applying for these jobs. End of story.
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 23/09/2009 13:11
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Welcome to the Met under a ZaNu-Labour government obsessed with the lunacy of political correctness targets and quotas instead of focussing on getting the best people for the job.
Positive Discrimination is DISCRIMINATION - simple as!
I have been disgusted and offended by the way the Police have patronised members of the Lesbian, Gay,Bisexual and Transgender communities (aswell as Ethnic Minorities) by singling them out for special treatment and pidgeon-holing them in this utterly superficial way.
Why can't the most qualified and competent person get the job?
Utter lunacy......To the Conservative Party : PLEASE scrap this poisonous,offensive and divisive practice of "positive discrimination"!
- Anon Pc, London, UK, 23/09/2009 12:25
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This is utter nonesense and underlines how this government is now playing politics with everything, rather than trying to run the country properly. The sooner Gordon Brown leaves the better as he is ruining Labour's once 'good' image..
- Jenny, London, 23/09/2009 11:52
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Positive-Discrimination is just Double-Speak. It is discrimination: the only acceptable method of recruitment is meritocratic - especially for such a serious job.
- Roz, France, 23/09/2009 11:01
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There is no such thing as Positive discrimination. There is only discrimination by another name.
The only fair way is to employ the best person for the job regardless of that persons status.
- Andrew, Ely UK, 23/09/2009 10:48
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I don't know what the fuss is about. Every week jobs are advertised internally and externally byu the Met and the other UK forces - the majority carrying some similar wording and where 'appropriate' staff with disabilities are also invited due to being 'under represented'. It is just the way it is these days to stop the 'permanently aggrieved and easily offended community' from squealing.
- Ranter, Maidstone, UK, 23/09/2009 10:48
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Why? Surely the Queen is entitled, as Head of State, to have the best possible protection. It might be a man or a woman who is also homosexual but equally it might not.
Yet another, should we need any more, example of political correctness gone mad.
- Captain Black Of The Mysterons, London, England, 23/09/2009 10:45
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"Applications are particularly welcomed from women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and black and minority ethnic communities/people as these are under-represented."
Anyone who has applied for any job over the last 10 years in any public sector organisation will know that this is just a standard bit of advertising text - it doesn't mean they are restricting the job to those listed, just that they are not going to discriminate on that basis.
Move on, nothing to see here.
- Liberal And Proud, London, UK, 23/09/2009 10:43
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Isn't it time the royal family appointed a private security firm and paid out of their own pockets? This country is bankrupt and can no longer afford this expense.
- R.F.York, Yorks, UK, 23/09/2009 10:32
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you couldn't make it up. and how demeaning to know you only got the job because of the colour of your skin or your sexuality. Who are they pretending to fool ?
- Squiz, Islington, 23/09/2009 10:18
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Clearly she must go ! This blatant corruption is yet another reason to I really don't care who they are so long as they are the best people to do the job. Why not advertise for illegal immigrants to do the job, after all they are discriminated against. Better why not advertise for Muslims to guard the head of the English Church – don’t make me laugh !
I would not want some second rate shoe in, placed to make up the numbers to be politically correct.
Let’s face it this politically correct rubbish is now just going to far. If you are the best all round applicant you will get the job.
- James, City of London, 23/09/2009 10:12
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Why?Are gays better at it?
- Eddie, London, 23/09/2009 09:51
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"These are terrible jobs which no one wants to do. What could be more soul-destroying than to sit in a rusty old sentry box for hours on end?" - Great advert for the Met from a man who now draws a nioe chunky pension from them. Rent-a-quote strikes again.
"What's wrong with just employing the best for the job?" Nothing, but this is an simply an invitation for a particular group of people who are currently hugely underepesented to apply - it is NOT the promise of a guaranteed job. I sususpect Mr Davies is exactly the sort of small minded reactionary who would kick up a pointless fuss about anything given half the chance. Yorkshire is welcome to him.
- Richard, London UK, 23/09/2009 09:49
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They should be employing the best person for the job, irrespective of race, religion or sexual preference.
- Cat, Essex, 23/09/2009 09:33
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