A student union has apologised after coming under fire for choosing One Direction star Zayn Malik as one of its faces of Black History Month.

Furious social media posters have pointed out that half-British, half-Pakistani Zayn is neither black nor noteworthy enough to be included alongside names on the list such as Dame Kelly Holmes and Sir Trevor McDonald.

As part of Black History Month, which runs throughout October, it chose six public figures to represent diversity.

As well as Sir Trevor and Dame Kelly, the list included Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Arthur Wharton, Britain's first black footballer.

The inclusion of One Direction star Zayn led to a huge backlash. The official Black History Month Twitter account said it was 'deeply disappointed at the ill-thought and misdirected celebrations.'

The union has now released a statement in which it apologises "unreservedly" for the decision.

It said: "As you are aware, last night we removed the posts about Zayn Malik and Sadiq Khan.

"We would like to unreservedly apologise for any offence or upset that was caused by this post.

"In the planning stages of Black History Month, we worked with students to develop a campaign that celebrated a range of ethnic cultures.

"However we can see that many of our students disagree with the direction the campaign took. We made a mistake.

The officers will be meeting with the African-Caribbean Society this morning to apologise and discuss where we go from here.

"We really value the input of all of our students in our liberation campaigns and welcome the opportunity to talk to any of you further."

Kent Union, which was formed in 1965, aims to 'empower' students at the University of Kent.

It comes after social media users were highly critical of the decision. Alliyah Gordon said Kent Union had 'embarrassed us all.'

Che Scott-Heron added: "Kent Uni is a joke. The uni thinks an English Pakistani boy from a band is a prominent figure in the black community."

Kent Union president Rory Murray released a statement on Tuesday night as the controversy grew.

In a lengthy posting on Facebook, he said: "I want to apologise on behalf of Kent Union to any individuals who were upset, uncomfortable or offended by the image shared. There was no intent for this to happen and I am very sorry to anybody who felt this way.

"I also feel it is important to explain the context behind how this happened. As a students’ union we are led by our members; over 2,000 volunteers who give up their time to run campaigns and events.

"This is through a wide range of activity be it sports clubs, societies, campaign groups, elected officers and so forth.

"The Black History Month calendar of events was led and run by these students and supported by the organisation. The activity for the month was decided by open meetings attended by black and minority ethnic students.

"I hope that the passion ignited in many people in the last 12 hours will continue and that students will become further involved in leading our black and minority ethnic work."

But the statement was not warmly received, with Drake Malfoy describing it on Twitter as 'an absolute non-apology.'

Meanwhile, the national organisers of Black History Month said they felt "disrespected and misrepresented" after Sadiq Kahn and Zayn Malik were chosen as icons for black people.

Editor of Black History Month Omar Alleyne-Lawler is "angry" after Kent University's Student Union failed to consult them or any other student body.

"By doing this they are erasing the memory of great black people and it shows that even when we make our own event people still hijack it" - Omar Alleyne-Lawler

Omar, 21, said: "From speaking to black students at the university they feel disrespected and misrepresented, a lot of them are angry because none of them have been consulted.

"Kent University have been very quiet about how they made this decision and whom they consulted and after we reached out to them last night they have not replied.

"We want clarification from them as to how they came to this disappointing decision.

"They could have chosen Benjamin Zephaniah and Mary Seacole, anyone is better than those they have chosen, we want someone who represents the black community.

"We are disappointed and angry, they said they had consulted a number of student bodies including the African and Caribbean student body.

"By doing this they are erasing the memory of great black people and it shows that even when we make our own event people still hi-jack it."