West Midlands Police chief says there is a 'snobbery' over officers

Dave Thompson had previously hit out at the proposals but has now gone further to suggest there is something of a class war playing out in the media.

He said: "Policing is one of the most socially-mobile professions, and unlike many people in the military and parts of the civil service, we are populated with people with very different socio-economic and educational backgrounds and histories.

“I just detect a constant whiff of snobbery in the language about police leadership not being ‘up to the calibre’ that constantly plays out in the papers.

“There’s something going on here that feels to me like exclusion. In some ways there is a judgment being made by people who struggle to accept that many police leaders come from different backgrounds.

“We use language like ‘calibre’ and ‘needing more talent’, and occasionally I think those are proxies for something slightly more uncomfortable.”

Policing journal Police Professional said Mr Thompson believes policing is criticised because it encourages promotion based on skill regardless of a person’s social background.

“There is a tone in the media that is a little bit ‘Mr Plod’,” he told the website.

“One of the things we should celebrate about policing is we want to attract a more diverse population. We see a lot of social mobility in policing with people rising up and becoming very successful policing leaders.”

A change in the law could allow those from a variety of professions, including the military, teaching and medicine, to apply to become chief constables.

Police forces have been allowing so-called 'direct entry' into Inspector and Superintendent levels for a number of years to attract recruits from a range of backgrounds and experience.