A white theatre director, who describes himself as an "African born again", has come under fire, after securing public funding intended to help ethnic minorities develop their stage careers.

Anthony Lennon, 53, who was born in London and whose parents are Irish, won a place on a two year Arts Council funded scheme, after a leading black theatre company accepted his claim to be of "mixed heritage".

He was one of four "theatre practitioners of colour", to be awarded part of a £400,000 talent development grant.

But Mr Lennon has been accused of being a "racial imposter" after it emerged that despite changing his name to Taharka Ekundayo at one point, he is unquestionably white.

The company involved, Talawa, which is one of the country's leading black theatre groups, last night defended its position, insisting Mr Lennon was an "exceptional" person for the role.

In a statement, a Talawa spokesman said: "As an artist of mixed heritage he is not only eligible for the position, but his experience, work and achievements make him an exceptional person for the role.”

But Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, said allowing people to self-identify on matters of race, inevitably meant members of the black Asian and ethnic minority (Bame) community lost out.