British black police officers launched a campaign Monday to discourage people from the black and ethnic minority communities from joining the London force, claiming promotion is being hampered by racism.
The Metropolitan Black Police Association (MBPA) said it was boycotting all drives to attract black and minority recruits because they were finding it harder to climb the career ladder than a decade ago.
The MBPA's chairman, Alfred John, said it was "inherently dangerous for us to be encouraging people to join and walking into what we consider to be a hostile environment.
"They will face racism, oppression - we have seen over the past few weeks what can happen to senior managers who speak out about racism and discrimination that is taking place within the organisation," he told BBC radio.
"We need to create an atmosphere where people do not feel oppressed to bring these problems forward so that we can deal with it." He said that although there were 2,000 more black and ethnic minority police in the London force than a decade ago," they aren't getting any promotions, they aren't getting any opportunities."
The boycott comes as London Mayor Boris Johnson announced an inquiry to explore race and faith issues within the force. Johnson said: "Policing a multicultural capital requires the police to have the full confidence of the communities they serve as well as its own staff."
The head of the Metropolitan Police, Britain's biggest force, Ian Blair, stepped down on Friday after Johnson told him he had lost his support.
Blair has faced accusations from senior Asian officers that their promotion has been blocked by racism. Paul Stephenson, who is temporarily heading the Metropolitan police since Blair's departure, said progress had been made in attracting black and minority officers.
He said: "The MPS (Metropolitian Police Service) now has three times as many black and minority ethnic officers as 10 years ago and approximately 20 percent of new recruits into MPS police training come from a black or minority ethnic background."
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