But the Indian-born equality campaigner, who came to Britain at the age of 13, found that Sir Humphrey’s character began to grow on him. It was only after he had learnt English — he grew up speaking Urdu — that he began to appreciate the programme.

Now, charged with ridding Whitehall of its elitist image, he is eager to separate fact from fiction. “We shouldn’t allow Yes Minister to be the reality of the Civil Service,” he says. White, middle-class men “see diversity as their issue”.

Azmi was appointed in October 2004 after spells in the voluntary and private sectors. Based in the Cabinet Office, his task is to improve the representation of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people at senior levels in Whitehall.

He is proud of what he has achieved so far, especially his ten-point plan, published last November after a diversity review and consultation with staff networks. The plan aims to increase the proportion of women in senior roles in the Civil Service from the present level of 29.4 per cent to 37 per cent by 2008; the proportion of ethnic minority staff from 2.9 per cent to 4 per cent; and the proportion of disabled staff from 2.8 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

The performance of government departments on those goals is monitored regularly and data is published every six months.

Azmi also raised eyebrows when he announced that the bonuses of permanent secretaries would be linked to their success in meeting the targets. He says that the idea is an innovative one, which even the private sector has yet to adopt.

He talks of other innovations, such as advertising the job of Ambassador to the Vatican externally. “It’s unheard of anywhere in the world,” he says. “There will be more ambassadors’ jobs coming in for open competition.”

In the next six months, the Civil Service will be rolling out a mentoring programme, pairing top civil servants with those from under-represented groups, he adds.

With his experience of working life in both private and public sectors, he is quick to defend the latter. “I think that there is a sense of inferiority in the public sector, which is unjustified,” he says. “There’s a lot that the public sector is doing which is far better than the private sector. ”

He points out that women hold only 9 per cent of senior positions in the private sector.

Azmi is not a newcomer to the field of equality and diversity. He was chief executive of the Worcestershire Racial Equality Council and later founded the British Federation of Racial Equality Councils, bringing together 100 equality councils in England and Wales. He then became head of equality and diversity at TMP/Monster Worldwide.

He was appointed OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2002.

As a 13-year-old he may not have foreseen his route to Whitehall. He recalls being a “reluctant immigrant” who had to leave behind friends and family and learn to embrace a country of cold temperatures, bland food and, occasionally, frosty people.

“1980s Britain was somewhat different to the Britain that we have today,” he says. “There was more explicit racism and you were scared as a 13-year-old, going with your parents to the park or out shopping because someone might abuse you or your parents.” But, he adds: “There were also people who were very warm.”

He says that while Britain and the Civil Service have changed, there is still progress to be made.

“It’s about creating a culture that has the panache and flair to embrace everyone.”

Waqar Azmi CV

Born: February 22, 1970, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Career: chief executive, Worcestershire Racial Equality Council, 1996-2001; founder, British Federation of Racial Equality Councils 1999-2001; managing director of equality and diversity, TMP/Monster Worldwide, 2001-04; appointed chief diversity adviser to the Civil Service in October 2004
What he says: "Government can’t afford to negatively discriminate or positively discriminate. What we can do is develop people so that they can compete equally."
Little-known fact: At university, he taught Urdu on a combined honours degree programme while studying for his own degree

[Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/career_and_jobs/public_sector/article711590.ece]