Cameron in pledge to black voters (From Northwich Guardian)

Cameron in pledge to black voters

10:05pm Wednesday 17th March 2010 in National News © Press Association 2011

David Cameron has reached out to black voters telling them that the Conservative Party had come "a long way" when it came to opening itself up to ethnic minorities.

At an event in Peckham, south-east London, the Tory leader spent over an hour taking questions on a variety of issues affecting the local and wider community.

Among the pledges he made was an end to police using terrorism laws to search people not suspected of terror-related offences.

He also vowed to increase powers to prevent BNP members from becoming teachers.

"I think being a member of the BNP and being a teacher is completely incompatible," Mr Cameron said.

He added that headteachers should be given more rights when it came to hiring and firing staff.

"Any good headteacher would not have a member of the BNP within a hundred miles of a school. They should be able to fire someone for that reason," he said. The comment received the loudest applause of the evening from the 200-plus strong audience.

Mr Cameron told those gathered at the Harris Academy that he did not believe people voted on issues that only affected their own race. "I generally believe in a one nation Conservative Party, a one nation Britain," he said.

But Mr Cameron added that "for a long time" there were reasons why black people would hold back from supporting the Conservative Party. He added that the Tories had taken a "huge step" forward.