THE memo, which was circulated around all officers in the Lancashire Constabulary, set out a list of things to consider when planning the annual Christmas party to ensure nobody was offended or left out.

Included in the checklist -- sent from the force's Equal Opportunities Unit based at the Hutton headquarters -- were warnings to staff to check the wording on the invites (use 'partner' instead of 'spouse'), consider disabled colleagues when booking venues and consider the content of any acts booked. Colleagues' special dietary requirements must be catered for, and arrangements must not conflict with people's religious obligations - no meetings at sunset during Ramadan, for example

The memo was dismissed by some officers who said police should spend more time fighting crime and less time trying to be politically correct.

Some MPs backed the calls and attacked the memo as political correctness gone mad.

Commentators pointed out that it was a simple matter of civil liberties - police officers should be free to behave as they wish, as long as they are not committing crimes or bringing the force into disrepute. If the advice was meant to prevent embarrassing publicity for the police, there was a certain irony in the media coverage generated by the memo itself.

Ribble Valley said: "I understand the efforts the police are taking to try to avoid bad publicity about Christmas celebrations, however because of what they are doing, I think they will achieve that bad publicity."

Blackburn with Darwen Tory councillor Edward Harrison added: "This sounds like Big Brother to me, it's absurd. The lunatics are running the asylum and they have gone way over the top."

Political correctness is not just confined to Christmas. Recent changes have seen accident 'blackspots' become 'hotspots' and the doing away with WPCs. Police constables are police constables regardless of sex.

But it is the recent memo which triggered off such annoyance.

One officer, who works in Blackburn and wished to remain anonymous, said: "This is a prime example of how petty and pathetic the modern police service is becoming. If we all spent less time worrying about not upsetting people and more time fighting crime, we might be able to make the county a safer place."

Another added: "This does seem to go over the top and it's patronising. It's political correctness gone mad."

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