Labour is calling for more diversity among the top Whitehall bosses who run Britain.
New figures from the Cabinet Office show that of the 4,000 senior officials in charge of government policy only 1.4% of them are black.
And that means they are unrepresentative of the UK’s overall black population which now stands at 3.3%.
Eight per cent of the UK’s 67 million people are of Asian background - but only 4.2% of them are in senior government roles.
Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said: “Our government and civil service should reflect the make up of the country they serve.
“Based on these figures, the senior civil service is failing to an unacceptable level in achieving that goal.
“And it needs to urgently to review its recruitment policies.”
Senior civil servants earn up to £208,100 a year and half of them are aged between 45 to 64. One in 100 stay on after their 65th birthday.
A former Whitehall official said: “It might help if Whitehall HQs were not all in London.
“They should be relocated so that they are based at the heart of more diverse communities.”
And Ms Thornberry added: “The backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints of all the people in our country should be brought to bear when policies get made and decisions are taken.”
Cabinet Office minister Heather Wheeler said she was committed to “drawing on talent from all backgrounds.”
She added: “The Government will identify and remove barriers to underrepresented groups.”
The senior civil service is made of up 52.7% men and 47.3% women.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: Diversity in the senior civil service has continuously increased over recent years, and we are committed to improving representation across our most senior grades
"We recently launched our ambitious Diversity & Inclusion strategy to promote representation at all levels, drawing on talent from all backgrounds through fair and open competition.”
