Labour leadership contender Yvette Cooper has said the party should aim to double its tally of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) MPs at the next general election.

The shadow home secretary said if she wins the race to succeed Ed Miliband she would personally oversee a new taskforce to ensure a "step change" in support for BAME candidates and activists.

Currently 23 of the party's 232 MPs are from BAME communities.

"Labour should set a goal to double the number of BAME MPs in a Labour majority Parliament," Ms Cooper said.

"With over a million ethnic minority voters choosing the Tories at the last election, Labour cannot be complacent. If Labour is not representative of our voters, how can we hope to keep their support?

"More than 15% of Labour voters are from BAME communities but just 10% of Labour MPs.

"If the number of Labour MPs mirrored the proportion of Labour voters there would be at least double the number of Labour MPs in a Labour majority Parliament."

She said the party needed a development programme for BAME activists who want to be candidates as well as taking steps to ensure candidate shortlists were more representative.