The UK’s first black police chief has questioned why no others have followed in his footsteps during a talk at the Hay Festival.
Michael Fuller, who was chief constable of Kent Police for six years up until 2010, said: “I was the first ever … and I assumed, as with women – there are lots of women chief constables now – that a lot would follow.
“But it hasn’t happened and we’re talking nine years and there still haven’t been any other black chief constables appointed.”
Asked why that might be, he replied: “I wouldn’t be involved in the decision-making. I think those who are should have to answer that because I have seen lots of very talented people.”
The 60-year-old made the comments, reported in The Guardian, as he spoke about his new memoir, Kill The Black One First.
The book charts his own rise from a child of Windrush generation immigrants raised in care, to joining the Metropolitan Police as a 16-year-old cadet and onto taking the top job in Kent.
During his talk at the literature event on Friday, he also spoke about racism in football, an issue that appears to have been on the rise once again in recent months.
“The clubs still haven’t got to grips with this,” he said. “The CCTV is far better. You can identify who is actually causing the problems [but] you’ve still got people shouting racist abuse.
“I’ve been to football grounds with my son and been ashamed that this is still continuing ... I know what it’s like.”
He added: “Any other employer would be in big trouble if they had allowed that to continue.”
