White British students not allowed to apply for security services internship

“I understand the need to encourage applications from a wide range of backgrounds, including underrepresented minorities,” he said.

“But this is an overtly racist policy and it should be immediately discontinued. It implies it is impossible for any white person to be deprived or deserving of assistance.”

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Tim Davies, a former Squadron Leader, said: “Opportunities are being denied to white children, that’s just a fact, they cannot apply just because they are white.”

He said that the RAF had made a similar mistake when pursuing a recruitment policy which led to accusations that it had discriminated against white men in its effort to meet “aspirational diversity targets”.

The Ministry of Defence subsequently admitted that “despite the best of intentions, some mistakes were made” in its approach, after reports of a recruitment drive which appeared to favour women and ethnic minority candidates.

The inquiry followed the resignation of the RAF’s head of recruitment after she reportedly refused an order to hire more diverse candidates because she believed it was “unlawful”.

Action must be ‘proportionate’ to address issue

The advert for summer interns at MI5, MI6 and GCHQ says that as well as being from a black, Asian, mixed heritage or ethnic minority background, students need to also be from a deprived family.

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Eligible occupations include a postal worker, machine operative, security guard, caretaker, farm worker, catering assistant, sales assistant, lorry or taxi driver, cleaner, porter, packer, labourer, waiter, motor mechanic, printer, tool maker, electrician, gardener or train driver.

According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), employers are allowed to take “positive action” by encouraging certain groups to apply for jobs to “address disadvantage or underrepresentation”.

They add positive action is lawful if the action taken is “proportionate” to address the issue.

“If an employer wants to take positive action in this way, the advert should clearly state the employer is seeking applications from everyone but wishes to encourage applications from people with a particular protected characteristic on the basis that they are underrepresented or face disadvantage,” the EHRC says.

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“Participants in the internship do not receive an offer of permanent employment at the end of it. Anyone who has participated in the internship and who wishes to apply for a permanent position can do so. They will compete against all other candidates in external recruitment processes.”

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