Met Police is forced to apologise after officers joked about ‘raping’

Police officers exchanged highly offensive racist, sexist and homophobic messages with claims that it was ‘banter’ becoming a cover for bullying and harassment, a shocking watchdog report revealed today.

Details of messages from WhatsApp groups and a Facebook chat group in which a male officer told a woman ‘I would happily rape you’ and ‘if I was single I would happily chloroform you’ were detailed in a shocking report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct into now-disbanded Metropolitan Police teams.

One officer was known as ‘mcrapey raperson’ because of his reputation for ”harassing [women], getting on them, do you know what I mean being like, just a d***.’

The horrific revelations are just the latest scandal to hit crisis-prone Met commissioner Cressida Dick, and makes particularly chilling reading in light of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Everard – who himself was allegedly nicknamed as ‘the rapist’ by colleagues. 

Homophobic language was also used including one entry that said ‘f*** you bender’, and a number of racist messages including references to African children, Somali people and Auschwitz that are too offensive to print.

The messages were uncovered as part of nine linked investigations into officers based in Westminster, mostly at Charing Cross police station, that began in March 2018 after allegations that an officer had sex with a drunk person at a police station. 

The Met today apologised for the ‘reprehensible behaviour’, which loads further pressure on Dame Cressida at a time when her force is under severe pressure for its alleged mishandling of the Partygate probe. 

Just two of the 14 officers investigated in the report have been sacked for gross misconduct and barred from future police employment, with another two resigning and several others facing disciplinary action. 

This means 10 appear to still be serving in the Met, raising questions whether enough action had been taken against behaviour described by the IOPC as widespread rather than down to ‘just a few bad apples’.

IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: ‘The behaviour we uncovered was disgraceful and fell well below the standards expected of the officers involved. While these officers predominantly worked in teams in Westminster, which have since been disbanded, we know from other recent cases that these issues are not isolated or historic.

‘The learning report we are publishing today is shocking and contains language which is offensive – and some may find it upsetting. However, we felt it was important to provide the context for the public, the Met and other forces, for why such hard-hitting recommendations are necessary.’

While the IOPC acknowledged the work that the Met has done since to improve, Mr Naseem said more needs to be done.

He said: ‘Our investigation showed the officers’ use of ‘banter’ became a cover for bullying and harassment. Colleagues were afraid to speak out about these behaviours for fear of being ostracised, demeaned or told to get another job.

‘We are grateful to those officers who were brave enough to speak to us about the cultural issues that existed within these teams, realising that in doing so they risked further bullying. This took courage. Hopefully our learning report and recommendations will give officers the confidence to come forward in the knowledge that people are listening and that changes will be made.

‘The relationship between the police and the public is critical to maintaining the principle of policing by consent. The concerns about behaviour and culture addressed in our report, if allowed to continue and go unchallenged, risked causing serious damage to that relationship.’

Fourteen officers were investigated by the IOPC, and two were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct – one of whom resigned and one was sacked.

Misconduct was proven against another two, one of whom received a written warning, while another four had internal measures to improve their performance.

Deputy assistant commissioner Bas Javid said: ‘I am angry and disappointed to see officers involved in sharing sexist, racist and discriminatory messages. It’s clear we have a lot of work to do to ensure bullying and discrimination does not exist in any part of the Met.

‘The actions of these officers between 2016 and 2018 were unacceptable, unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply offensive. I read their messages with increasing disgust and shame.

‘We haven’t waited for the IOPC’s report to take action – a number of officers have been subject to misconduct proceedings, including one officer dismissed and one who would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. Every Met employee has also been spoken to about responsible use of social media.

‘We recognise that there is need for real change in the Met and we are committed to creating an environment that is even more intolerant to those who do not uphold the high values and standards expected of us.’

A review of culture and standards in the Met is currently being carried out by Baroness Casey, in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: ‘I am utterly disgusted by the behaviour outlined in this IOPC report, which details the shocking evidence of discrimination, misogyny, harassment and bullying by police officers. The conduct of these officers was totally unacceptable and what has been revealed by these investigations will only further damage public trust and confidence in the police.

‘It is right that the team concerned has been disbanded and the police officers found to be involved have been dismissed, disciplined or have left the police. Anyone found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, antisemitism, bullying or harassment does not deserve to wear the Met uniform and must be rooted out.’