A Royal Air Force recruitment chief refused orders to ‘prioritise women and ethnic minorities over white men’ because she believed it was illegal, a leaked document reveals.
A copy of the leaked email shows the group captain telling her boss that she thought allocating slots on RAF training courses based only on gender or ethnicity was ‘unlawful’, according to Sky News.
Defence sources said the unnamed chief resigned on the same day over the ‘course loading’, which has sparked concerns about positive discrimination, an illegal practice, within the RAF.
The officer, who has been described as a highly regarded individual, wrote in her email on August 4: ‘This is unlawful… I am not prepared to delegate or abdicate the responsibility of actioning that order to my staff.’
A minister had said on Friday that any evidence of positive discrimination within the RAF would be investigated and that the Government would hold anyone responsible to account.
Positive discrimination is the unlawful preference or promotion of someone based on a protected characteristic such as gender, sexual orientation or skin colour, under equality legislation.
It comes after the Armed Forces minister, James Heappey, เกมสล็อตเว็บตรง denied claims that a ‘pause’ had been put in place on job offers for white men in favour of women and ethnic minorities, in order to hit ‘impossible’ diversity targets.
The RAF (pictured) is aiming for 40 per cent female recruits by 2030 and the target for ethnic minorities is a ratio of 20 per cent of the air force
He said Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, who heads the RAF, had asked the team to ‘pause’ offering all training slots while he and his leadership consider how they might take positive action to assist improving diversity levels on various training courses in the year to March 2023.
He stressed that no policy is implemented yet despite the RAF recruitment team receiving an order on August 2 from the chain of command, according to .
Air Vice-Marshal Maria Byford’s August 4 email explained that under this order her team was ‘to course load any remaining women and EM [ethnic minorities] in those priority professions that are ready, even if the EA [enlisted aviator] candidates are not ‘first past the post”.
The ‘first past the post’ system means the RAF’s slots are given to the applicants who pass the aptitude, medical and fitness tests first.
Byford specified that the halting of job offers to white men and to only employ minorities was ‘not actioned’.
She said the order violated equality legislation and the RAF’s own legal guidance.
The Vice-Marshal, who has served in the force for more than 30 years, said the RAF should look at how to use ‘positive action’ legally so recruits who have passed the basic requirements to join the force can be selected on merit as well as their gender and ethnicity.
Pictured James Heappey, Armed Forces minister (right) who backed diversity quotas and disputed the ‘pause’ on the recruitment of white men
She confirmed earlier in the week that women could be picked over men if they were underrepresented in that role and they had met the required standards.
An RAF spokesoerson said the concerns raised by the now-resigned head of recruitment had been ‘addressed’ by her chain of command.
They said: ‘The RAF recruits people from the widest possible pool of talent and is becoming a more diverse organisation, but we will not do so at the expense of our high standards, operational effectiveness, or adherence to legal obligations.
‘We frequently review our recruitment processes, seeking legal advice to ensure that we are mindful of our legal obligations.
‘Any allegations that we have failed to do so are investigated without delay. The concern raised in this instance was addressed by the chain of command at the time and we continue our work to ensure recruitment processes remain compliant with all policy and legal requirements.’
Defence chiefs have championed the increase of diversity within the profession and the MOD announced it aimed to increase female recruits from 12 per cent to 30 per cent by 2030.
The RAF is aiming to better that with a goal of 40 per cent female recruits and the target for ethnic minorities is a ratio of 20 per cent of the air force.
Defence sources have accused Air Chief Marshal Wigston of compromising UK security in pursuit of improving diversity and inclusion.
