The government has said more research is needed into why black people are the subject of far more stop and searches than their white counterparts.

Home Office minister John Denham has reacted to research showing that black people are now eight times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people.

Last year 714,000 stop and searches were carried out - a four per cent rise on the year 2000-2001.Outside the Metropolitan Police area of England and Wales, there was a fall in the number of stop and searches of two per cent for white people.

Asians, however, were stopped and searched 16 per cent more often in 2001-2002 than the previous year.

This sensitive area of race relations provoked a careful response from Denham.

He said that: "We support stop and search. But we need to understand why it is that more black people and ethnic minority people are stopped than white people."

Ravi Chand, president of the National Black Police Association, said he was "concerned" at the continued disproportionate nature of stop and searches.

"It's been at alarming levels for the last number of years and very little seems to have been done to address the real concerns that the black community have," he said.

Chief inspector Steve Glover of West Midlands Police said: "Let me be absolutely clear. Stop and search in the West Midlands is not based on the colour of a person's skin.

"Stop and search is based on intelligence, it's based on locations, it's based on descriptions, it's based on the way people commit crime".

Paul Cavadino, chief executive of crime reduction charity Nacro, said: "Despite all the excuses and rationalisations, these figures are indefensible. No one can seriously claim that black people commit eight times more crime than white people.

"Stop and search does little, if anything to reduce crime, but has a hugely damaging impact on relations between the police and the community."

Part of the Home Office response has been to announce a new unit to "get beneath the statistics and identify the root causes of over representation of minority ethnic groups at all stages of the criminal justice system".

Speaking at the National Black Police Officers' Association AGM in Nottingham this morning, Denham announced the introduction of interim minority ethnic recruitment targets for the police service.

The new unit will devise a programme of action and support the criminal justice system in meeting statutory responsibilities under the Race Relations Amendment Act.

In addition, a new Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) code governing stop and search procedures for police will be laid before Parliament today.