Racist and sexist police messages show 'failure of leadership', says Priti Patel
The officers concerned were primarily based at Charing Cross Police Station
Last updated 2nd Feb 2022
Sexist, racist and homophobic messages exchanged by a group of Met Police officers showed a "failure of leadership" and exposed problems with the culture in policing, the Home Secretary has said.
Highly offensive language used on WhatsApp and in Facebook chats by officers, from a now-disbanded team based in Westminster, was exposed after whistleblowers contacted watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The officers concerned were primarily based at Charing Cross Police station.
On Tuesday (1st February) the IOPC took the unusual step of publishing the messages in full, despite many of them being too offensive to print, because it said it was important for the public to know.
Officers made repeated jokes about rape, domestic violence, violent racism and used homophobic language and derogatory terms for disabled people.
"There are problems within Met Police culture"
Home Secretary Priti Patel told the Commons Home Affairs Committee today (2nd February) that the problem wasn't isolated and there had been "too many instances where, in policing, we just see the most appalling behaviours".
Asked by committee chairwoman Diana Johnson if she thinks police forces are "institutionally misogynistic", Ms Patel said: "There are problems with the culture, and some aspects of the culture, within the Metropolitan Police.
"I do think there are some very, very serious and significant matters that need, not just following up, but further investigation.
"We're not seeing one-off incidences. I think we should just be quite clear about that. We are not seeing one-off incidences, this is not isolated. We have seen now too, too many times, too many instances where, in policing, we just see the most appalling behaviours, the most appalling conduct.
"I also think it shows a failure of leadership in some quarters.
"So you've asked me the question about institutional misogyny within policing. There are cultural issues there. What we saw in the IOPC report absolutely points to, I'm not even going to say just misogynistic behaviours, I think it's cultural and attitudinal."
Sarah Everard inquiry also looking at "systemic failures"
Two inquiries are underway looking at the culture within the Met Police:
- one by Baroness Casey that was organised by the force itself
- and a Home Office probe headed by Dame Elish Angiolini that is looking at the failures behind the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer
READ MORE: Sarah Everard inquiry to look at 'red flags' in Wayne Couzens' policing career
The IOPC published the messages sparked by a later disproven claim that an officer had sex with a drunk person at a police station.
Fourteen officers were investigated by the watchdog, of whom two were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct. One was sacked and another resigned before he would have been dismissed.
Nine remain serving officers, while another is working as a contractor in a staff role.
IOPC London chief Sal Naseem said that the two accused of gross misconduct were the worst perpetrators. Though he couldn't confirm whether those still serving were responsible for any of the offensive comments published.