Met plunged into crisis amid fresh claims of bigotry and excessive force

"The BBC Panorama programme follows undercover filming capturing allegations including misogyny, anti-Muslim comments and other alleged wrongdoing at Charing Cross police station. At the highest levels of the Met, as well at City Hall and in national government, there is a fear if not expectation, that the revelations will damage confidence in the force and cast doubt on claims it is reforming radically enough after years of scandal and damning reports."

"In a sign of the tensions, officers booed and jeered the Met deputy commissioner, Matt Jukes, at the National Black Police Association (NBPA) conference when he refused to accept that Britain's biggest force was institutionally racist. A report in 2023 by Louise Casey, commissioned by the Met after the Sarah Everard scandal, found the Met to be institutionally racist, misogynistic and prejudiced. Rowley immediately rejected those terms, while saying he accepted the report's findings of wholesale failings and toxicity."

"Jukes was scrambled to attend the conference of black officers on Wednesday as the Met was plunged into crisis by the alleged actions of its own officers, telling the audience the behaviours were a matter of profound shame and regret. Jukes, a strong favourite to be the next Met commissioner warned of gangsterish behaviours among officers, covering up for wrongdoing and coercing others to do the same."

The Metropolitan Police faces allegations of entrenched prejudice, misogyny, anti-Muslim comments and other wrongdoing captured by undercover filming at Charing Cross police station. Senior leaders and politicians fear the revelations will erode public confidence and question the pace of reform after years of scandal and critical reports. Officers booed deputy commissioner Matt Jukes at the National Black Police Association conference when he denied institutional racism, while a 2023 Louise Casey report found the force institutionally racist, misogynistic and prejudiced. Commissioner Mark Rowley apologised, described wholesale failings and toxicity, vowed deeper investigations into corrupt networks and supported a follow-up inquiry announced by the mayor.

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