On October 2, 2025, the BBC Panorama programme aired a searing undercover investigation that has thrown the Metropolitan Police Service into turmoil, exposing a toxic underbelly of racism, Islamophobia, and misogyny at the Charing Cross police station in central London. The revelations, gathered over a painstaking seven-month period by undercover reporter Rory Bibb, have prompted a wave of outrage, official apologies, and renewed calls for urgent reform within Britain’s largest police force.
The BBC’s investigation, as reported by BBC Panorama and corroborated by Thred, began when Rory Bibb took on the role of a designated detention officer at the Charing Cross custody suite. The station, already flagged by whistleblowers as problematic, soon revealed itself as a microcosm of deeper issues plaguing the Met. Bibb’s hidden cameras captured a series of disturbing conversations and behaviors—many occurring in the custody suite, others in local pubs—unveiling a culture where bigotry and abuse were not only tolerated but, at times, openly celebrated.
Among the most egregious incidents, one officer was caught suggesting that an immigrant who had overstayed his visa should be shot, describing Algerians and Somalians as “scum,” and declaring that Britain faced an “invasion” by migrants. “I think any foreign person is the worst to deal with,” the officer said, adding, “I’ve seen too many Islamics committing crimes. Their way of life is not the correct way of life. You do find that the ones that are causing the most crime are Muslim.” Another officer was recorded laughing at the news that Muslim detainees had been mistakenly served non-halal food, sneering, “Muslims hate us. They f*** hate us. Islam is a problem. A serious problem.”
The footage also documented officers exchanging messages supportive of far-right Islamophobe Tommy Robinson, as well as minority colleagues describing how they faced discrimination and differential treatment from peers and supervisors. The secret recordings, as detailed by BBC Panorama, left little doubt about the entrenched prejudices within the ranks.
Sexism and misogyny were equally pervasive. According to Thred, Bibb’s footage showed Sgt Joe McIlvenny, a nearly 20-year veteran, making sexist remarks, dismissing rape allegations, and discussing his sexual fetishes at length. He was also caught advising Bibb to keep quiet about police violence, warning of the need for secrecy. Another officer, PC Sharkey, was recorded during a pub outing saying, “if you’re going to go down for sexual assault, you might as well go down for rape,” before asking, “now who can I fing trust here?” The investigation revealed a chilling camaraderie built on shared bigotry and a code of silence—one officer told Bibb it takes time to “reset” and determine if a new colleague is trustworthy enough to hear the “facts.”
The fallout was immediate. Nine officers and one staff member were suspended, with two more removed from frontline duties, as confirmed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which has launched a full investigation. The Met’s Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, issued a rare and unequivocal apology, stating, “The comments and behaviour are reprehensible and completely unacceptable. There is incontrovertible evidence of racism, misogyny, anti-Muslim sentiment or bragging about excessive use of force.” He later described the actions as “disgraceful, totally unacceptable and contrary to the values and standards” of the force.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer weighed in, calling the findings “shocking” and demanding a robust response from the Met’s leadership. Meanwhile, the Association of Muslim Police (AMP) released a heartfelt statement acknowledging the “fear, pain and frustration” caused by the revelations. “We want to be unequivocally clear: there is no place for racism, Islamophobia or any other forms of hate and discrimination in our police service,” the AMP declared, adding, “Your feelings are valid, and we are sorry for the harm this has caused.”
The response from advocacy groups was equally fierce. Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, condemned the findings as “shocking,” lamenting that they represent “just the latest set of revelations, highlighting how little real progress is being made.” She pointed to the 2023 ‘Remove the Rot’ campaign, which had already exposed the Met’s failures to address misogyny and violence against women and girls (VAWG). “It is no wonder women’s confidence in policing is at breaking point,” Sherrington said. “The behaviour captured in this investigation is truly despicable.”
Sherrington further raised alarms about a recent disclosure that hundreds of Met officers hired between 2016 and 2023 may have undergone little to no vetting—a fact that makes the BBC’s findings “even more devastating.” She reiterated Refuge’s call for all officers and staff accused of VAWG to be suspended pending investigation and for regular re-vetting of officers, warning, “That goal will remain out of reach if policing culture is allowed to remain so fundamentally flawed.”
The context of these revelations cannot be separated from the Met’s troubled recent history. In 2021, the disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard by an off-duty Met constable ignited a national reckoning over misogyny and violence within the police. The force promised sweeping reforms, but as the BBC’s investigation makes clear, old habits die hard. According to Thred, the culture of secrecy and bigotry has simply gone underground, with officers only revealing their true views to those they trust.
Temporary Chief Constable Sue Fish, who reviewed the BBC’s footage, described it as “completely inappropriate” and “very misogynistic.” The government, for its part, has pledged to halve VAWG within the next decade—a target welcomed by Refuge but widely seen as unattainable without a wholesale cultural shift in policing. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has promised a follow-up report on the Casey Review, which previously examined institutional failures within the Met.
For many, the BBC Panorama investigation is a watershed moment. It has laid bare the extent to which racism, Islamophobia, and misogyny remain woven into the fabric of one of Britain’s most important institutions. The coming months will test whether the Met, under intense public scrutiny, can move beyond apologies and suspension of a handful of officers to confront the deeper rot that advocacy groups and whistleblowers say has festered for years. The eyes of the nation—and particularly those of women and minority communities—will be watching to see if meaningful change finally takes root.
