Telecoms giant BT was last night under fire after a top executive declared that plans to cut more than 1,000 jobs in rural East Anglia while hiring new staff in major cities will boost its workforce diversity.

In comments leaked to The Mail on Sunday, Howard Watson, BT's chief networks officer, suggested that a 'significant factor' in choosing where to locate major offices was the ethnic diversity of the area.

One Tory MP yesterday accused BT of 'pandering to political correctness' and warned it could be illegally discriminating against white staff.

It comes as the MoS can reveal that BT's new chief executive, Allison Kirkby, could pocket up to £220,000 in bonus payments specifically linked to 'diversity and inclusion' targets.