Metropolitan Police chief accuses DEI opponents of fuelling 'toxicity' as he launches minority hiring spree

It comes as the Met announced a major Police Constable recruitment campaign, calling for prospective employees "from all backgrounds".

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said diversity is London's "greatest strength," and that the capital needs "a police service that represents all of London’s communities".

Sir Mark today insisted the force "cannot police London effectively if we fail to recruit from all of London," adding: "Effective policing depends upon inclusivity."

According to the force, 18 per cent of Met officers are from a minority background, compared to 46 per cent of Londoners.

And while the Met has the highest number of black and Asian officers of any force in the UK, just 3.7 per cent of officers are black, compared to 13.5 per cent of London's population.

This is despite the force hiring diversity officers with a £75,000 salary, or a culture and inclusion lead paying £64,000.

However, wiritng in The Guardian, the police chief insisted: "We have no interest in the politics and ideologies of the culture wars. Inclusion is an operational necessity."

He added that the force "cannot be effective if large sections of society do not trust us, do not work with us or do not see policing as a service that understands their experiences."

"An inclusive workforce is not a public relations exercise. It makes us better at protecting victims, catching criminals and preventing crime."

But police forces have also faced pressure to scrap DEI training and approaches following the murder of Henry Nowak, who died in police custody after being falsely accused by his killer, Vickrum Digwa, of being racist.

Chief Constable Alexis Boon of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary issued an apology for the actions of officers on the night of his death, though he sternly denied allegations of two-tier policing.

Officers at the constabulary are trained to be aware of racism, unconscious bias, and privilege, alongside contested critical race theory.

But a recent staff survey, uncovered by The Times, found one in seven of those had felt "controlled and pressured" to adopt these notions, living in fear that "mistakes would have been held against me".

Concluding, Sir Mark said the "toxicity is horrible around the DEI debate," before revealing that 2025 saw the most diverse intake of recruites in the Met's history, with an increase of women and ethnic-minorities from London.

"We want the talent from every corner of London to join our courageous and resilient teams and to close the gap with communities we have previously drawn least from," he stated.

"Some will wrongly suggest that increasing representation means lowering standards. Nothing could be further from the truth.

"For generations, talented people from some communities have faced barriers that limited opportunities to join policing or build a career within it. Tackling those barriers is not favouritism. It is fairness."

The 2023 Casey Report found the Met to be institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic, and warned that the chief would struggle to repair the broken trust across London.

Sir Mark, while agreeing with the findings, denied it being "institutional".