The Metropolitan Police is once again under a harsh spotlight after an undercover BBC Panorama investigation exposed a string of racist, misogynistic, and violent comments made by officers at Charing Cross police station in Central London. The revelations, which have prompted a wave of suspensions, a criminal arrest, and renewed scrutiny of the force’s culture, have reignited longstanding concerns about the Met’s ability to police London’s diverse communities fairly and effectively.
Undercover reporter Rory Bibb spent seven months embedded as a detention officer in the Charing Cross custody suite, capturing officers on camera making chilling remarks about immigrants, women, and Muslims, and openly bragging about violence against suspects. The footage, which aired last week, shows one officer, Pc Phil Neilson, declaring about an immigrant who had overstayed his visa: "Either put a bullet through his head or deport him. And the ones that shag women, rape women, you do the cock and let them bleed out." According to BBC Panorama, Neilson also referred to Algerians and Somalians as "scum" and described an imagined invasion of the UK by migrants.
Another officer, Pc Martin Borg, was filmed laughing about a colleague stamping on a detainee’s leg and the suspect’s screams, and even appeared to offer to submit a false witness statement regarding the incident. The BBC footage also captured officers making sexual jokes about female detainees and dismissing rape victims. Sgt Joe McIlvenny, another officer named in the investigation, was heard describing his own sexual exploits to colleagues. The undercover material revealed a toxic environment where racist, misogynistic, and violent attitudes were not only tolerated but shared openly among staff, both on and off duty.
The fallout was immediate. Within 48 hours of the allegations surfacing, nine serving officers and one civilian staff member were suspended, and two more officers were removed from frontline duties. The entire Charing Cross custody team was disbanded. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an inquiry into 11 current and former officers for potential gross misconduct, including excessive use of force, making discriminatory and misogynistic comments, and failing to report or challenge inappropriate behavior. One constable is also under criminal investigation for allegedly perverting the course of justice.
On October 2, a sergeant attached to the Central West Basic Command Unit was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. The officer, whose identity has not been released, was bailed and suspended from duty. The Met confirmed the arrest was linked to the matters disclosed in the BBC Panorama documentary. "Professional standards officers immediately acted to make the arrest and the officer has been suspended from duty," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine on October 4. "We will not hesitate to take rapid action around any further allegations, as part of our deeper probe into corruption and ridding the Met of those who are not fit to serve the people of London."
Reactions from the highest levels of government and policing have been swift and strong. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, speaking earlier in the week, said, "I’ve not yet seen the footage, but I’ve had it described to me, and it’s shocking, and I’m glad the commissioner is responding. He needs to be very robust in his response." Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who took over the force three years ago with a mandate to address its troubled culture, expressed horror at the documentary’s findings. "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," he said on October 1. He promised that those involved, where there is incontrovertible evidence of racism, misogyny, anti-Muslim sentiment, or bragging about excessive use of force, would face fast-track hearings and likely dismissal within weeks.
But for many, these promises ring hollow. Neville Lawrence, the father of Stephen Lawrence—a Black teenager murdered in a racist attack in 1993—publicly accused the Met’s leadership of failing to recognize the true scale of the problem. "For many people, including myself, the latest reporting on racism, corruption and misogyny in the Met Police comes as no surprise. This is a sickness that the force was suffering from when Stephen was murdered 32 years ago and we have spent that time highlighting it but still it goes on," Lawrence said. He criticized Commissioner Rowley for refusing to accept that the Met is institutionally racist, despite repeated reports and investigations pointing to deep-rooted issues. "The only way to fix the Met Police is for the leadership to accept its diagnoses and take the medicine. But Mr Rowley will not do that. Even now he is refusing to accept that the Met is institutionally racist. It's causing resentment in the black community and the community knows that if anything is wrong, or there is a situation involving the police, they can't call the Met because they're not going to do anything. This film shows why," he argued.
Lawrence’s words echo the findings of a recent report, commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder by PC Wayne Couzens, which concluded that the Met was "institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic." Despite this, Commissioner Rowley has repeatedly refused to accept the label of institutional racism, even as the force faces mounting evidence of systemic problems. The BBC Panorama investigation is just the latest in a series of scandals that have rocked the Met, leading to the resignation of former commissioner Dame Cressida Dick and prompting calls for wholesale reform.
Within the force, there is a recognition that change is desperately needed—but also a call for fairness. Paula Dodds, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, stated, "The federation deplores any discriminatory behaviour in the strongest possible terms - such behaviour has no place in policing or society. If officers are proven to be guilty of criminal offences or serious gross misconduct, then we do not want these individuals in the job. But all police officers - like all people - have the right to representation and due process, and not trial by media or documentary. Or indeed senior officers or politicians."
The Met insists that the vast majority of its officers are dedicated to serving London’s communities with integrity. Commissioner Rowley has maintained that while the force is not perfect, most officers can be trusted. Yet, the repeated emergence of such scandals—each more disturbing than the last—continues to erode public confidence, particularly among London’s Black and minority ethnic communities.
As the IOPC’s investigation proceeds and the Met promises further action, the city waits to see if this latest crisis will lead to meaningful change, or if it will become just another chapter in a long history of institutional failure. For many, the answer will depend not just on the speed and severity of disciplinary action, but on the willingness of the Met’s leadership to confront uncomfortable truths about its own culture—and to commit to real reform, however painful that may be.
With the BBC’s revelations still reverberating, the future of the Metropolitan Police—and its relationship with the people of London—hangs in the balance.
