© BBC NewsOne man told Newsnight's Laura Kuenssberg he had been stopped and searched by police ''at least 100 times''
Plans to limit police stop and search powers in England and Wales have been held up by "regressive" attitudes in Downing Street, senior Conservatives have told BBC Newsnight.
The home secretary wrote to cabinet colleagues in December seeking approval to "reduce significantly" one type of stop and search, Newsnight has learned.
Despite setting a 12 December deadline, the changes are yet
to be announced.
Downing Street said the prime minister accepted reforms needed to take place.
However, officials have refused to say when any decisions might be taken.
Critics say stop and search unfairly targets the black community.
In November, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said that, overall, black people were six times more likely than white people to be stopped, with Asian or other ethnic minority groups two times more likely to be stopped.
Comment: What the salaried U.S. government person is trying not to say is that the phone calls that were leaked to the press reveal uncomfortable truths that point towards his government's involvement in the crisis in Ukraine. So how to put the worms back in the can? Blame it on Russia! It's in fashion anyway now that the Cold War posters have been out of the old dusty closets and reused.
BREAKING! Kiev snipers hired by new coalition, not Yanukovych - Estonian FM to EU chief Ashton
Note that, to date, the above Guardian article is the ONLY Western mainstream media report on this bombshell leaked phone call between Ashton and Paet. Clearly an order came from on high to 'bury it'.