RAF Recruitment Head Reportedly Resigns After Service Temporarily Stops Hiring White Men

Last year, UK Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston called for “profound” change in the hiring of personnel as he committed the Royal Air Force (RAF) to doubling recruitment of women to 40% by 2030 and 20% from ethnic minorities.

The head of the UK’s RAF recruiting team has resigned amid concerns the service paused recruitment of white males in favor of ethnic minorities and women in order to tackle diversity-related issues, according to Sky News.

The news outlet cited unnamed defense sources as saying that the RAF head - the senior female office whose name was not revealed – quit a few days ago in protest against “an effective pause” on recruiting white men.

The sources claimed that such a pause could undermine the RAF’s combat strength, berating the service for trying to hit "impossible" diversity targets.

One insider recalled how General Sir Patrick Sanders, the head of the Army, had likened modern-day security challenges to those in the run-up to World War II, arguing that the UK is now facing its "1937 moment."

"Then you look at the head of the RAF [Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston] and he's prepared to break the operational requirement of the air force just to meet diversity [targets]. I think he needs to be hauled up by the Ministry of Defense and told: This is the defense agenda, get on it,” the source added.

A spokesperson for former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, one of the two remaining Tory candidates to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, told Sky News that “the only thing that should matter in recruitment is the content of your character, not your sex or the color of your skin.”

"That the Ministry of Defense would allow Britain's security to potentially be put at risk by a drive for so called 'diversity' is not only disgraceful, it is dangerous,” the official argued.

An RAF spokesperson, however, rejected the allegations and claimed that “there is no pause in Royal Air Force recruitment and no new policy with regards to meeting in-year recruitment requirements.”

The spokesperson insisted that RAF commanders “will not shy away from the challenges we face building a service that attracts and recruits talent from every part of the UK workforce."

According to the spokesperson, "As with the Royal Navy and British Army, we are doing everything we can to encourage recruiting from under-represented groups and ensure we have a diverse workforce. The Royal Air Force has a well-earned reputation for operational excellence that is founded on the quality of all our people. We will always seek to recruit the best talent available to us.”

In December 2021, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin made it clear in his first speech as head of the Armed Forces that that he expected RAF chiefs to make diversity a priority.

Diversity is not about “wokefulness,” he said at the time, adding, “It is about woefulness. The woefulness of too few women. The woefulness of not reflecting the ethnic, religious and cognitive diversity of our nation.”

The remarks came after the RAF pledged it will use “targeted interventions” within a legal framework of “positive action” to meet diversity targets.

This means that when candidates for internal appointments are thought to be of equal talent and ability, preference will be given to women and minorities rather than white male recruits.