Letter: Race and the police

Sir: When Jim Callaghan decided that the police should be excluded from the scope of race relations legislation, that inevitably sent a signal to the police that they

were not meant to take race relations seriously.

The Home Secretary is the police authority for the Metropolitan Police district, yet holders of that office are speaking as if they have no personal responsibility for the overall conduct of the Met. Given their general power "to give directions to the Commissioner as to the operational control of the Metropolitan Police", Callaghan's successors could have instructed the Commissioner to tell his officers to behave as if the Race Relations legislation did apply to them - and to cooperate fully with public inquiries.

Did Jack Straw and his predecessors do that? If not, why not?

ERIC THOMPSON

London NW2