The United Kingdom and India are both facing intense scrutiny over police conduct, with recent revelations exposing systemic issues of discrimination, brutality, and the abuse of power. In London, the Metropolitan Police has been rocked by a BBC undercover investigation revealing appalling racism, misogyny, and Islamophobia among officers. Meanwhile, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, prominent Muslim leaders and politicians have condemned what they describe as a discriminatory crackdown on Muslim communities following recent unrest.
On October 1, 2025, the head of the UK's Metropolitan Police, Commissioner Mark Rowley, issued a public apology for what he described as "appalling, criminal" behaviour by officers. The apology came in response to a BBC "Panorama" documentary, which aired undercover footage secretly recorded by BBC reporter Rory Bibb. Bibb spent seven months, until January 2025, working as a civilian detention officer at Charing Cross police station in central London. His hidden camera captured officers making deeply offensive remarks, including calls for immigrants to be shot and derogatory comments about migrants from Algeria and Somalia. One officer was even caught boasting about his sex life in graphic terms.
According to the BBC, officers were filmed saying that a detainee who had overstayed his visa should have "a bullet through his head," and referring to migrants as "scum." The documentary further revealed officers reveling in the use of force and dismissing rape claims, painting a picture of a toxic workplace culture at one of London’s busiest police stations.
Commissioner Rowley did not mince words in his reaction. "The behaviour depicted in this programme is reprehensible and completely unacceptable," he stated. He went on to acknowledge that the Metropolitan Police had suffered from "systemic, cultural, leadership and regulatory failings that have allowed misogyny, racism and a lack of public service ethos to put down deep roots." Rowley also described the force as being "partway into conducting what is already the biggest corruption clear-out in British policing history."
To date, nine officers and one staff member have been suspended, with two others removed from frontline duty following the BBC report. The custody team at Charing Cross station has been disbanded. In the past three years, nearly 1,500 officers and staff—out of a 40,000-strong force—have been sacked for failing to meet the Met’s standards. Rowley said that the force is now "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."
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who met with Commissioner Rowley to discuss the revelations, said that "a series of urgent changes have been put in place." Khan emphasized, "There must be zero tolerance to this kind of behaviour and no hiding place for officers who abuse their position of trust." The Met has been under particular pressure to reform since the 2021 kidnap, rape, and murder of marketing executive Sarah Everard by a serving officer—a crime that shocked the nation and shattered public confidence in the police.
While London grapples with its policing crisis, across the globe in Uttar Pradesh, India, the family of Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) president Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan and Congress Member of Parliament Imran Masood have strongly condemned a police crackdown on Muslims following recent unrest in Bareilly. The unrest began on September 26, 2025, when a large crowd gathered outside a mosque after Friday prayers, carrying "I Love Muhammad (PBUH)" posters. After a proposed demonstration was cancelled, clashes erupted, prompting police to launch a massive crackdown and arrest Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan the next day.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the family of Tauqeer Raza Khan, who belong to the influential Sufi-Barelvi Ala Hazrat clan, accused police of implicating Muslims in false cases and arresting them on fabricated charges of attacking security forces with firearms, petrol bombs, and acid bottles. In a statement, Maulana Tauseef Raza Khan, the elder brother of Tauqeer Raza, alleged that police raided mosques, harassed imams and worshippers, and even obstructed prayers—a blatant violation, he argued, of Muslims’ constitutional right to practice their religion freely.
The family further claimed that detainees were paraded before the media in injured condition, denied food and water in custody, and that women and children were also subjected to harassment. They described how many houses were demolished under a so-called "bulldozer policy," and accused police of allowing miscreants to pelt stones at both Muslims and police near Indira Market without taking action against the instigators. The family maintained that had Tauqeer Raza been allowed to submit his memorandum peacefully, the unrest could have been avoided.
Congress MP Imran Masood, who represents Saharanpur, was placed under house arrest on October 1, 2025, to prevent him from visiting Bareilly. Masood told reporters that he and his delegation had planned to meet senior officials to review the situation, but were barred by the authorities. He criticized the government’s approach, arguing that it was discriminatory and that, "in other incidents of violence where Muslims were attacked, the administration failed to act, but in Bareilly Muslims alone were punished." In his own words, "They lathi-charge us, use batons and bullets on us, which clearly shows there are two laws in this country—one for us and one for others." Masood also called on religious leaders to ensure that mosques remain places of worship and are not turned into pretexts for police crackdowns.
The Ala Hazrat family, descendants of the renowned Islamic jurist and Barelvi movement leader Imam Ahmad Raza Khan, have warned that continued police excesses would compel them to take concrete steps. Their statement reflects a broader sense of frustration and fear among Muslim communities in Uttar Pradesh, who feel targeted by what they see as a discriminatory system.
Both the UK and India are now under the microscope as they confront the challenge of reforming institutions that are supposed to uphold justice and protect all citizens. The Metropolitan Police’s efforts to root out corruption and toxic culture, and the urgent calls from Indian Muslim leaders for an end to discriminatory policing, highlight the global struggle to ensure accountability in law enforcement. As these stories unfold, they serve as a sobering reminder that the fight for justice and equality in policing is far from over.
These recent developments have forced both societies to reckon with uncomfortable truths about their police forces. Whether the reforms promised in London and the demands for accountability in Uttar Pradesh will lead to lasting change remains to be seen, but the pressure for transparency and justice has rarely been greater.