Britain’s top cop has warned racist, sexist and violent police officers that he will drive them out of their jobs.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the behaviour depicted in an undercover TV film as “reprehensible and completely unacceptable”.
Nine officers at the UK’s busiest police station could be sacked in an investigation into the programme’s allegations of racism, misogyny, excessive force on prisoners and inappropriate behaviour.
One officer, a police constable, is also being investigated for the potential criminal offence of perverting the course of justice.
The officers, from Charing Cross police station near Trafalgar Square in central London, have been suspended by the Met.
They are the subject of a gross misconduct investigation by the watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Two others, a former Met officer and a civilian staff worker, are also facing the same disciplinary charge, which could lead to their dismissal.
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Sir Mark said: “Officers behaving in such appalling, criminal ways, let down our communities and will cause some to question if their sons and daughters are safe in our cells, and whether they would be believed and respected as victims of crime.
“For that, I am truly sorry.
“It’s my expectation that for those involved, where there is incontrovertible evidence of racism, misogyny, anti-Muslim sentiment or bragging about excessive use of force, they will be put on a fast-track hearing within weeks and on a path to likely dismissal. We stand ready to work with the IOPC to make this happen.”
‘Crisis meeting with team leaders’
The commissioner is said to have called a crisis meeting with his force’s ‘team leaders’, the chief inspectors and superintendents responsible for instilling discipline in more junior ranks.
Another serving officer featured in the programme has been told they are no longer being investigated because it was thought their behaviour did not breach professional standards.
The force, the UK’s biggest, was told of the allegations three weeks ago after the BBC’s Panorama presented film and audio compiled by an undercover reporter who got a job as a civilian worker in the station’s custody suite.
The programme was due to be aired on BBC One tonight at 9pm.
‘Excessive use of force and discriminatory comments’
The allegations include excessive use of force, making discriminatory and misogynistic comments, and failing to report or challenge inappropriate behaviour.
The incidents are alleged to have happened on and off duty between August 2024 and January 2025.
IOPC investigators have not seen the TV film, but studied hours of CCTV footage from the custody suite, where prisoners are processed and held temporarily in cells, before announcing their gross misconduct investigation.
IOPC director Amanda Rowe said: “Having advised the individuals they are under investigation, we will now be securing initial accounts from them. We are treating this matter extremely seriously and have a team of investigators carrying out enquiries.
“Given the volume of CCTV footage and the number of individuals involved, it will take time to obtain and review all of the evidence; however, we want to reassure the public that we are working hard to progress enquiries as quickly as possible.
“We have identified and are contacting members of the public involved to inform them of our investigation and explain our role and we will be speaking to them in due course.”
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The IOPC said it had appealed to Met police officers and staff for any information about bad conduct at the Charing Cross custody suite.
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Ms Rowe said: “Since our investigation began, we have made several attempts to secure evidence from the BBC Panorama programme makers, which will be crucial to our enquiries.”
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Sir Mark has been on a mission to root out badly behaving officers since he took the job three years ago.
He said he has been open about the “systemic, cultural, leadership and regulatory failings that have allowed misogyny, racism and a lack of public service ethos to put down deep roots”.
“We are partway into conducting what is already the biggest corruption clear-out in British policing history. We are relentlessly arresting and sacking officers and staff with 11 forced out each week – more than triple the rate of the previous weak approaches that left this toxic legacy behind.”
Three years ago, the IOPC issued wide-ranging recommendations to the Met to change policing practices after a series of investigations found evidence of bullying, discrimination and offensive social media messages, predominantly among officers at Charing Cross.
