Political Correctness in the UK...

My God...they need people to be foster parents....how sensitive can they get?

David and Sarah Mott were turned down by Peterborough city council after Mr Mott used the phrase to describe Eastern Europeans during a fostering course.

The 43-year-old said the decision had left him angry, upset and feeling that he had let down his family as well as the children the couple had hoped to care for.

Nationally, there is a shortage of around 10,000 foster carers, of which about 450 are needed in the East Midlands, where the Motts live.

Mr Mott and his wife, 40, who have three children of their own, were in the middle of a four-day fostering course when he spoke the words.

"We were late in one day and I explained we had been held up in the city centre because of an accident involving four white foreigners. Nothing was said about it to me or Sarah either that day or the day after," he said.

The first he knew about the problem was eight days later when a social worker called and said she thought the phrase was inappropriate.

"I was angry and upset. I thought I had let myself down and my wife, and even those kids we could have offered a good home to who are now going to spend longer in care or suffering family problems.

"My wife and I thought there had to be something more to our rejection. We honestly didn't feel we could be turned down for something so petty," he added.

A letter later sent to the Motts stated: "David indicated a negative attitude towards Eastern Europeans."