APART from the prospect of a whole new slant being put on the "Hello, hello" uttered by our police officers, is not the likelihood of Lancashire Constabulary running recruitment advertisements in the gay press nothing more than a kowtow to political correctness?

For hark at the double-think in the justification for following this option.

"Someone's sexuality or gender is not important to us. What is important to us is attracting the right sort of recruits," says Gillian Radcliffe, the force's head of corporate communications and strategy.

I agree entirely with that. Recruits to the force should be people who will make good bobbies.

So why, in addition to this, is Lancashire Police considering targeting people because of what their sexual tendencies are - when in the same breath it tells us this is not a consideration?

Furthermore, I can assure them that lots of people who look to the police for their protection do not discard moral considerations in these matters and would be far less blithe about homosexuals in police uniform being the "right sort."

But, then, they are far less fearful of political correctness.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.