London Police Invite Gay Cops To Join Detail To Protect Royal Family

London's Metropolitan Police are seeking LGBT applicants to join a special detail that protects the royal family.

Advertised internally, the positions are available to current armed officers, and involve residential protection in London, Windsor and Scotland for the SO14 branch. The listing states that the groups specified are currently under represented. The advert has sparked criticism from numerous quarters. John O'Connor, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner said: "From a political correctness point of view, it's just window dressing. These are terrible jobs which no one wants to do. What could be more soul-destroying than to sit in a rusty old sentry box for hours on end?" But Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, West Yorkshire criticised the move more seriously. "'I don't know whether the Royal Family are going to feel that much safer knowing there's a transgender outside protecting them," he said. "This is absolutely ludicrous. What's wrong with just employing the best for the job?

The police say that although they promote diversity, applicants will be selected "solely based on merit."