Civil servants have sent out thousands of letters to businesses in an effort to unearth racism.

A total of 1,000 bogus CVs were sent out to test whether candidates with ethnic minority names were treated differently to those with traditional British nationals, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.  

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) defended criticisms by the British Chambers of Commerce that the operation, carried out by the Ethnic Minority taskforce, was underhand. 

A DWP spokesperson says: “This research was commissioned by the taskforce to identify and tackle any underlying causes.

“It is not about highlighting any individual company and all information gathered will remain completely anonymous.”

The results of the operation will be published later in the summer.