Former Met police officers jailed after taking photos of murder victims

Two former Met Police officers have both been jailed for two years and nine months for misconduct in a public office after they took and shared photographs of the bodies of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.

They are expected to serve half these sentences and then be released on licence.

Pc Deniz Jaffer and Pc Jamie Lewis were assigned to guard the crime scene overnight after Ms Henry, 46, and Ms Smallman, 27, were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, north-west London.

Instead, they breached the cordon to take "inappropriate" and "unauthorised" photographs of the bodies, which were then shared on WhatsApp.

Lewis even superimposed his face onto a picture with the victims in the background.

He sent the doctored image to Jaffer, who forwarded it to a female officer at the scene.

Jaffer went on to show one of the photos to a male officer as they left the park and sent others to three friends on WhatsApp.

Lewis, who used "degrading and sexist" language, also shared crime scene pictures with a WhatsApp group of 40-plus officers called the "A Team".

The pair, who were attached to the Met's North East command unit, were suspended from duty following their arrests on June 22 last year.

Jaffer, 47, of Hornchurch, east London, and Lewis, 33, from Colchester, Essex, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office.

Previously, the sisters' mother Mina Smallman called on the Metropolitan Police to "get the rot out once and for all". She gave her reaction outside court...

Last month, a tribunal found the officers had committed gross misconduct.

Lewis was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police immediately and Jaffer would have been sacked too, had he not already quit the force.

In a statement, Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, Professionalism, said:

"Our thoughts are once more with the family and friends of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman. I am so sorry that during the most difficult time in their lives the actions of these two officers caused them so much additional pain and distress.

“Today former PCs Jaffer and Lewis have been punished for their actions which were utterly unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply insensitive.

“All of us in the Met and wider policing are horrified by their shameful behaviour."