DBritish police are rocked by another report of racist remarks by officers. New text messages and photos leaked to the public from an internal Whatsapp group contain “disgusting” content, according to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
Memes viewed by the Daily Mail and the BBC mocked black Londoners, the death of a Black Lives Matter activist and the murder of American George Floyd, among others. A photo montage showed the British Islamist Shamima Begum in a Scotland Yard uniform with a burqa. Duchess Meghan, wife of British Prince Harry, was also a victim of racist mockery.
Because of the ongoing scandals at Scotland Yard, Khan had just reappointed the helm. Former boss Cressida Dick has “denied” the culture in the police force for too long, Khan said after the pictures and news broke. “Any officer guilty of sexism, racism, homophobia or harassment does not deserve to wear the Metropolitan Police uniform and must be tracked down quickly.” New police chief Mark Rowley vowed to be “ruthless” against racists and misogynists to proceed. Scotland Yard has hitherto been “far too weak” in the face of those officers who cast a bad light on the honest and committed majority of the police force.
Another officer has been fired in the form of border guard Rob L., a member of the chat group. L. had worked as a police officer in London for many years. Police officer Wayne Couzens, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape-murder of Londoner Sarah Everard a year ago, also belonged to the WhatsApp group. After the murder, which drew national attention, many police officers left the chat group, which had existed for 12 years.
