A Green Party London Assembly Member has urged Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to resign following damning revelations of racism, misogyny and violent threats made by officers at Charing Cross Police Station.
The BBC’s Panorama investigation, conducted over a seven-month period, uncovered a culture of toxic behaviour within the station, with officers recorded making racist and misogynistic remarks. One officer was even caught discussing extreme violence against migrants, while a sergeant was heard making repeated sexualised comments to colleagues.
In response, Sir Mark Rowley admitted there were serious systemic failings within Britain’s largest police force but stopped short of describing the issues as institutional. He stated:
“We have disbanded the custody team at Charing Cross, made changes to local leadership and have begun wider work to identify any other areas of concern in detention teams across the Met.
As Commissioner, I have been candid about the systemic, cultural, leadership and regulatory failings that have allowed misogyny, racism and a lack of public service ethos to put down deep roots. We are part way into conducting what is already the biggest corruption clear-out in British policing history. We are 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.”
Sir Mark, who became Commissioner after the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens, previously pledged to rebuild public trust and confidence in the force and to be “ruthless” in removing corrupt officers.
However, Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett has dismissed his comments as insufficient and is calling for his resignation. She said:
“Firstly, I want to express my solidarity with anyone who’s experienced extreme force and any kind of discrimination at the hands of the police. The horrific accounts we heard from serving officers last night were not only disturbing, but they revealed a culture of abuse that needs to be rooted out.
Time and time again we are told things are improving in the Met, but clearly that’s a lie. The institutional racism, misogyny, homophobia and ableism exposed in the Casey Report haven’t disappeared, they’ve just been driven underground. This culture hasn’t changed. It’s been hidden.
The Commissioner is in denial and is still blaming ‘bad apples’ instead of recognising the deep-rooted institutional problems the Met is riddled with. He has no idea how to fix the rot inside the Met and has proven he’s not capable of leading them out of this crisis. He must resign today.”
Ms Garbett also called on the Mayor of London to invest in alternative approaches to community safety, arguing that the Met was failing to keep communities safe.
The latest revelations add further pressure on Sir Mark Rowley as he seeks to address deep cultural problems within the Metropolitan Police, following years of high-profile scandals and growing public concern over misconduct and trust.
