George Wright and
James Chater
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London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan (left) and Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Met Police
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has said he is “disgusted and appalled” by footage of some Metropolitan Police officers at Charing Cross police station after it was exposed in a BBC Panorama documentary.
Serving Met Officers called for immigrants to be shot, revelled in the use of force and were dismissive of rape claims in footage captured by a Panorama undercover reporter.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the footage, which also shows officers making sexualised comments to colleagues and sharing racist views about immigrants and Muslims, as “disturbing” and “sickening”.
Sir Mark Rowley, head of the Met Police, has apologised for the “reprehensible and completely unacceptable” behaviour.
In a letter addressed to the mayor and home secretary after the documentary aired, he listed a series of “immediate actions” the force had taken, including having dismantled the custody team at the Charing Cross police station, and senior leadership changes that cover west London.
Sir Mark added that all those involved will be “put on a fast-track hearing within weeks and [are] on a path to likely dismissal”.
After the BBC sent a detailed list of allegations to the Met, it suspended eight officers and one staff member, and took two more officers off front-line duties.
Mina Smallman, the mother of two murdered sisters, told the BBC’s Newsnight she was not shocked by the allegations. Two Met Police officers were jailed this year after they shared photos of her daughters’ bodies on WhatsApp.
“When people are comfortable and their guard is down, we get to see what they’re really like,” she said.
Ms Smallman added that the Met was “not going to change overnight”. She said “this behaviour has been there for so long, it’s going to take ages to root out”.
Watch: ‘When their guard is down we get to see what they’re really like’ – Mina Smallman
Sir Sadiq said “sexism, racism, misogyny and the excessive use of force” had “no place in the police”.
“I have met with the commissioner to discuss directly the issues ex
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