Police have been told not to use terms such as ‘black sheep’ and ‘blacklisted’ in case it causes offence.

Bedfordshire Police and Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire constabularies have created a diversity, equality and inclusion reference guide for their officers and staff.

The nine-page document, which was published online last year and reported last night by The Telegraph – also stated that ‘black mark’ was no longer deemed acceptable as part of expressions that use ‘black in a negative way’.

Alongside these words, the guide called on officers to use gender neutral language such as ‘pregnant person’ rather than pregnant women while it advised against using ‘Christian-centric’ language such as ‘faith’.

And the ‘reference resource for staff and officers’ handout said gender is a ‘social construct relating to behaviours and attributes’.

‘There is a wider range of gender identities than just male and female,’ it added.

The guide covers concepts such as racial microagressions and white fragility – which is defined as ‘a state in which some white people are unable to cope with or process the information they receive about racism’.

Officers are also reminded to refrain from generalisations such as older people people grumpy and boring and women in their 50s being menopausal.

Festus Akinbusoye, the UK’s first black Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and former PCC for Bedfordshire Constabulary, called the guidance ‘utterly mad’.

He questioned why the term ‘whitewashing’ was not singled out for criticism but the terms ‘blacklisted’, ‘black sheep’ and ‘black mark’ were.

‘Was this to have been brought to my attention while serving as Police and Crime Commissioner, I would have asked questions as to the necessity and limited inclusivity of this inclusion document,’ Mr Akinbusoye added.

James Esses, a psychotherapist and campaigner who posted screenshots of the guidance on X, said: ‘I think it is utter madness that in all the years we have seen the harms that this woke ideology has done, that this being sent to police officers.’

A spokesman on behalf of the three forces told The Telegraph: ‘We can confirm that this information has been made available as part of an online diversity, equality and inclusion reference guide for our officers and staff.

‘Our forces serve diverse communities, and we are pleased to have an inclusive, culturally intelligent workforce, and invest in training to develop this ethos across our workforce. The information we have issued aims to provide guidance to help our officers and staff identify difference in our communities and treat the public we serve with respect. We regularly review such guidance to ensure that it remains current.

‘We are committed to ensuring everyone across our three forces takes personal responsibility to help create an inclusive workplace, where police officers and staff respect others, feel valued for their differences and can be themselves.’