[Crimson Dynamo]

Paul Embery, a former executive council member of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), told The Telegraph that fire chiefs should focus on putting out fires rather than “manipulating the workforce demographic”.

He said: “Public services should of course ensure that individuals from all backgrounds are able to join their ranks and prejudice must be tackled where it exists.

“But when they set arbitrary targets for recruitment, it crosses over into social engineering.

“There are all sorts of reasons why particular groups might not enter certain trades – there are, for example, few male midwives and hardly any female refuse collectors.”

Mr Embery added: “Most of the time it has little to do with prejudice. Some individuals and groups are attracted to jobs that hold little appeal for others – that’s just a fact of life.

“We should stop fixating on manipulating the workforce demographic in certain public services and concentrate more on ensuring that these services perform better for the public.”