WILTSHIRE Police have lawyers sifting through the ruling from an employment tribunal in which black PC Ronnie Lungu was subjected to racism for any grounds to appeal.

The findings were published last week after the tribunal found PC Lungu, the only black officer out of 20 vying for a permanent promotion, had been singled out as a ‘marked man’ due to the colour of his skin.

This week the Deputy Chief Constable reported back on the incident to Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson, who said they share his serious concerns about the judgement.

That said, legal advisors to the force have been tasked to look through the findings for any discrepancies they would dispute.

Mr Macpherson said: “The Deputy Chief Constable gave a report at a meeting of my Board on the outcome of the employment tribunal into the complaints made by PC Lungu.

“It is clear that the senior management of Wiltshire Police share my concern about the tribunal’s judgment.

“There is a due process that I have to respect as the Constabulary determines whether there are grounds to appeal against any aspect of the judgment.

“We agreed that we would look again at the issue once the legal advisors have submitted their analysis. I will then want to know how the Constabulary intends to ensure that lessons are learned from this very unfortunate case.”

Wiltshire Police have just 16 black and ethnic minority police officers, 15 police staff and three special constables, and senior staff are concerned the ruling could discourage greater integration into the force.

Responding to the tribunal’s findings, Chief Constable Patrick Geenty said: “Clearly, the issues this raises do need to be carefully considered.

"We continue to work hard to embed our values and behaviours and the code of ethics within the organisation.

“Wiltshire Police will learn lessons from this process and continue to move forward.

"I have no doubt that this judgment will affect members of the black and ethnic minority community who might be considering joining Wiltshire Police.

“I want to reassure the public that Wiltshire Police are committed to increasing diversity in the force so that we can reflect the communities we serve.

“This case was complex and there were a number of points covered. With our legal advisors, we are undertaking an assessment of the tribunal’s findings in order to decide whether to appeal any aspects of the judgment."

“Following this assessment, decisions will be made on what action we may need to take and how we can ensure that lessons are learnt from this case.

“As a force we remain committed to robustly and proportionately tackling inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and supporting those who report wrong doing.

“Over the last few years we have worked hard as a force to ensure we give our staff the right tools whether to deal with wrong doing or managing challenging issues, and we will continue to improve upon this.”