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

Met officers joked about ‘raping’ and ‘hate-f*****g’ female colleagues, ‘killing black children’, and beating their partners in a series of highly offensive racist, sexist and homophobic messages which they tried to excuse as ‘banter’, a shocking watchdog report revealed today.

A male officer told a female colleague ‘I would happily rape you’ and ‘if I was single I would happily chloroform you’ in just one of a raft of horrific messages uncovered during an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

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 highly-critical report is 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’.

Nine of the 14 officers investigated are still serving in the force – with just two sacked – risking questions about whether enough action has been taken to root out an issue described by investigators as ‘widespread’ rather than the result of ‘just a few bad apples’.  

Homophobic language was also used, with officers talking about ‘f****** gays’ and writing ‘f*** you bender’, in addition to a mass of racist comments including references to African children, Somali people and Auschwitz. 

The messages were uncovered as part of nine linked investigations into officers based in Westminster, mostly at Charing Cross police station, which 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’ exposed in the resulting report, 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. 

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.’

Of the 14 officers investigated, two were fired for gross misconduct and put on a barred list to stop them ever working again for the police. Two officers resigned and two others were disciplined. 

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.’

With Cressida Dick facing fresh questions over the culture at the Met, here are just some of the horrific comments  exposed in the report: 

On rape and sexual abuse

One officer’s aggressive behaviour towards women was considered so suspect that he was known as ‘Mcrapey Raperson’.

The nickname is similar to that of PC Wayne Couzens, the police officer who used his position to abduct, rape and murder Sarah Everard.

Asked why someone at Charing Cross Police Station was called ‘Mcrapey Raperson’, a colleague said it related to ‘harassing them [women], getting on them, do you know what I mean being like, just a d***.

Others reported it related to his ‘particular fondness of IC3 and IC4’ – the Met’s codes for people of black or Asian origin.

The police officers would tell disgusting jokes about raping women and each other.

Today’s report said messages like this were sent on WhatsApp groups containing 17 police officers, also within another WhatsApp group containing 19 police officers.

There was also a private Facebook chat group containing four police officers.

One policeman, known as officer 1, sent messages saying ‘I would happily rape you’; ‘if I was single I would actually hate f**k you’ and ‘if I was single I would happily chloroform you’. 

On domestic and sexual violence

The policemen sent a plethora of messages about beating up wives and girlfriends, forcing them to have sex to ‘shut them up’, including at knifepoint, declaring: ‘Knock a bird about and she will love you’.

Another said: ‘Getting a woman in to bed is like spreading butter. It can be done with a bit of effort using a credit card, but it’s quicker and easier just to use a knife.’  

Police officers who gave evidence spoke of dominant macho officers, bragging about sexual activity, encouraging each other to ‘slap women’ or even ‘grab her p***y’.

For example, there was an officer described as ‘a bit of a ladies man, who would chase and harass women’, and that ‘there was a ‘be careful when he’s around’ kind of atmosphere.’   

WhatsApp groups were dominated by chat including domestic violence, plus sexually explicit, misogynistic and demeaning conversations about women, including partners.

In one conversation ‘Officer 1’ said: ‘And my bird won’t stop taking the p**s. Swear to got [sic] I’m going to smack her’. A policeman known as Officer 2 said: ‘Slap her one…say you didn’t’

Officer 1 then replied ‘I`ll f***ing do it. She`s f***ed off home.’

In a later conversation  Officer 1 said: ‘I f***ing need to take my bird out, won’t see her until next Saturday. Then I have to work. Promised to take her out the Friday after. Making it up to her from when I backhanded her’.

Officer 2: ‘Grab her by the p***y’. Officer 1 said: ‘You ever slapped your missus? It makes them love you more. Seriously since I did that she won’t leave me alone. Now I know why these daft c***s are getting murdered by their spastic boyfriends. Knock a bird about and she will love you. Human nature. They are biologically programmed to like that s**t.’

Officer 2 said: ‘Lmao’ and his colleague replied: ‘I’m right though’. 

Racism and homophobia

The Met officers joked about black people being robbers, Africans being ‘made into dog food’, Somalian ‘rats’ and even the Holocaust. 

One police officer described one patrol as having ‘walked past the big mosque [as] all the fanatics turn up at to radicalise the young’.  

Many of the messages were sent at the time when the Black Lives Matter movement came to prominence around the globe in 2020.

In one WhatsApp group an policeman said:  ‘My dad kidnapped some African children and used them to make dog food’.

Another wrote: ‘Some uniform or plain clothes work on Somalian rats… I battered one the other day…weighed less than [police officer’s name]’. 

A police officer sent another officer an image of a Black man wearing a white shirt. His colleague asked, ‘What’s good about it I don’t get it lol.’ He replied, ‘Ignore the robber…I like the shirt.’

In one Anti-Semitic message, one officer said: ‘Opened my balcony door and loads of flies flew into the front room. So I got the fly spray and turned my gaff into Auschwitz.’ 

The abhorrent language was also used to describe people with disabilities, including calling them ‘spastics’ and one a ‘retard’.