The first government “race audit” reveals divides in health, education, employment and the criminal justice system in England

Schools, police forces and councils will have “nowhere to hide” on discrimination, Theresa May pledged today as she published research laying bare racial divides across the country.

The first government “race audit”, said to be the most ambitious project of its kind in the world, reveals divides in health, education, employment and the criminal justice system in England.

Dorset police will be challenged to explain why black people were seven times more likely to be arrested there than in Essex last year. Stockport’s primary schools will face questions about why less than a quarter of black 11-year-olds reached the required standard in reading and maths for their age while in Sunderland the figure was more than three quarters.

In some cases, whites are revealed to