Universities could be forced to reveal the numbers of ethnic minority applicants who have been awarded places on their courses under proposed new transparency rules.

David Cameron announced plans to introduce the rules as part of a Government anti-discrimination drive aimed at prompting institutions such as Oxford University to work harder to broaden their intake.

Education chiefs have been summoned to Downing Street for talks on the issue with Business Secretary Sajid Javid on Monday.

The police and armed forces will also be encouraged to address any under-representation in their recruitment.

Meanwhile Labour MP David Lammy has been recruited by the Prime Minister to review discrimination in the justice system - particularly why black offenders are more likely to be handed prison sentences than white criminals.

"It's disgraceful that if you're black, it seems you're more likely to be sentenced to custody for a crime than if you're white," the PM said in a Sunday Times article announcing the new measures.

Under the new rules universities will be required to routinely publish data on applicants, broken down by course, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background.

However, there will be no quotas for ethnic minorit students - a measure Mr Cameron described as "politically correct, contrived and unfair".

According to Prime Minister David Cameron it is time to "shame our country" and "jolt us into action" to make sure there is not an under-representation of ethnic minorities at British universities, and also in our police or armed forces.

Writing in The Sunday Times he said: