The head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Sir David Calvert-Smith, has said racist prejudices are prevalent in all areas of British life.

He told BBC Radio 4 it was his "firm belief" that Britain is institutionally racist.

"Whether we are talking about asylum, whether we are talking about sport even, there are various stereotypical assumptions that are made," he said.

He says the CPS and the police have been cast as the scapegoats for the attitudes of society.

"It is painful for us and the police to be the only organisations in public life that have actually had the courage to admit we have a problem," he said.

"It has been very convenient for everyone else to say 'Oh yes, the Crown Prosecution Service is a racist organisation, the police are all racist, but nobody else is', which I'm afraid is far from the truth."

The Commission for Racial Equality backed away from supporting the comments, saying it believed most people were not racist, though institutions should do more to promote diversity.

The Mail's front page says that while prosecution rates plummet, the man responsible for locking up criminals is "more interested in branding everyone in Britain a racist".