By Ashley Young-
The admission that racism is a problem in the Met, according to the Deputy Assistant Commissioner is shocking and disappointing.
Yet, the Met Police Federation had the cheek to declare its lost faith in London Mayor Sadiq Khan after he expressed a lack of confidence in former Met chief Cressica Dick, under whose leadership racism had thrived in the Met without change.
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The claim by an officer to have been called a racist slur by a supervisor , whilst another said senior leaders suggested black people were not clever enough for the Met is embarrassing for the Met as a whole.
Revelation that between 2016 and 2018, officers shared messages that were highly sexualized, violent and discriminatory against women, ethnic minorities, LGBT people and disabled people – which they defended as “banter”, was most revealing of the level of racism in the Met which the offenders found acceptable and comfortable to share.
Other accounts by officers that complaints about racist conduct from officers were treated lightly, is symptomatic of indifference to racist conduct in the police force. It calls for a major root and branch change in the force.
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The two black officers interviewed by BBC Newsnight said there needed to be changes among the Met’s senior leadership to root out racism and misogyny.
Asked if he accepted racism was a problem in the Met, he said: “Yes, I do.”
He added: “What I would say is, there are people who have racist views and are racist and they are in policing. But what I won’t do is describe the organization as a racist organization.”
Mr Javid, who is responsible for professional standards, said there was “absolutely no room for racism in policing, especially here in the Metropolitan Police”.
“If people are found to be racist or discriminatory in any way, then I will do absolutely everything I can to make sure they’re removed from the police,” he said.
But one of the officers who spoke to the BBC said racism within the force had got worse and officers accused of discrimination did not face adequate sanctions.
When he raised a complaint, he said the Met Police “put more pressure on the victim than the accused”.
He said he felt like he was the one who had to move departments, while the accused stayed in the same job.
“There shouldn’t be any other option than for them to lose their job,” he said.
“Until that changes, I don’t think much will change in the Met.”
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