Private sector recruiters looking to embrace diversity should look to the Metropolitan Police for guidance on how to do it properly, a leading policeman has claimed.

Since the Stephen Lawrence inquiry in 1999, inspector Bob Pull (pictured) believes the Metropolitan Police has managed a successful campaign to gain trust among ethnic minorities.

Inspector Pull is the Met’s adviser on faith issues and has been involved in initiatives to liase with different religious groups in the capital. Himself a practising Christian, Pull said his religious beliefs had also helped the Met recruit more ethnic-minority officers. Many churches in the capital had a high proportion of ethnic minority members and the relationships forged had allowed the police to recruit from new communities, he added.

Pull said: “We were able to go into churches in uniform with other police officers. Because we shared the same faith we were able to engage with them, which helped us with recruitment.”

•Inspector Pull will speak at the “A Multi-Faith Police Service for a Multi-Faith Society” conference in London, on 29 September.