Senior policing figures last night condemned a temporary block on white candidates applying to become officers in one of Britain's biggest forces. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper faced calls to stop West Yorkshire Police's recruitment drive, which gives members of 'under-represented' ethnic groups priority to apply to be PCs. The attempt to boost diversity has led to concerns that white candidates are being unfairly treated. One former senior officer said the policy was 'idiotic'. MPs said having 'favoured ethnic groups' was symptomatic of 'two-tier Britain'. The force insisted the policy ensured its workforce reflected the region's communities, and no interviews took place until candidates of all races could apply. But former senior officers and police and crime commissioners (PCCs) said it would damage the very communities it sought to help, and was ill-judged given a policing recruitment crisis. Kevin Hurley, ex-Scotland Yard borough commander and former head of counter terror and public disorder at City of London Police, said: 'When will police leaders understand that the public don't care about the colour, religion or gender of a responding police officer? 'They just want them to turn up quickly, be competent and do a good job. Forces can't recruit and retain enough people as it is, so what on earth are they doing with policies like this? 'Not only does this show the stupidity of the leadership and a patronising approach to ethnic minority groups, it demonstrates ignorance about how to win confidence.' Festus Akinbusoye, Britain's first black PCC, said he was 'angry' to learn of the policy, which he said would not have been devised by members of the communities it is meant to help. West Yorkshire's 'positive action team' has a tiered gold, silver and bronze recruitment structure. A whistleblower told The Daily Telegraph that black and Far East Asian candidates had a gold ranking, those of south east Asian heritage were silver, and 'white others', including applicants from Irish and eastern European backgrounds, were bronze. In addition to having the opportunity to apply early for jobs, ethnic minority candidates were sent reminders of key deadlines, but their white counterparts did not receive the same messages. More information about what the job entailed was also shared with gold and silver candidates than white British applicants. The force said it was permitted to address under-representation through positive action under the Equality Act 2010. An employment lawyer for a London firm said it was 'unusual and untested,' adding: 'It is sailing close to the wind in terms of discrimination, but is probably just the right side of lawful.' Mr Akinbusoye, the former Bedfordshire PCC, said: 'When forces are struggling to recruit officers and some are having to cut numbers it is absolutely astonishing that any would bring in measures that discourage applications from any part of society. 'If you want to encourage black people to play golf or tennis, you don't do this by stopping white people playing. This sort of policy is detrimental to the very groups which it is intended to help. 'I have never heard of a victim of crime saying they wanted a black or white or Asian officer specifically – all they care about is being attended to by competent and skilled police officers.' West Yorkshire Police said 23 per cent of people in its area were from an ethnic minority background, but its officer representation for those groups was just nine per cent. It added: 'Positive action allows people from under-represented groups who express an interest in joining the force to complete an application, which is held on file until a recruitment window is opened. No interviews are held until the window is officially opened to all candidates. 'Enabling people from under-represented groups to apply early does not give them an advantage in the application process, it simply provides us with more opportunity to attract talent from this pool of applicants.' The force insisted that the policy had been assessed by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, but a source said the watchdog had not specifically examined race discrimination or recruitment of officers. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: 'Once again we see another example of two-tier Britain. 'It's disgraceful that West Yorkshire Police are treating white applicants as second-class citizens. The Home Secretary needs to urgently put a stop to this.' West Yorkshire Police has spent at least £1.4million in the past three years on diversity hires, which Tory policing spokesman Matt Vickers said should have been more than enough to avoid making this 'shameful blunder'. 'This is outrageous,' the Conservative MP added. 'No employer, least of all a police force funded by taxpayers, should discriminate against applicants based on their race.' Ms Cooper said: 'Often, lots of organisations do encourage more applications from under-represented groups, but they also have to make sure that the actual decision making, the recruitment process is fair and is making sure that it's about getting the best possible candidates into the sorts of jobs that they have.