“Toxic” WhatsApp messages show Metropolitan Police officers making offensive remarks about rape, race and Kate Price’s disabled son. A misconduct hearing has laid bare the messages in which two serving and six former police officers made the horrific remarks.
In the groupchat entitled ‘Secret Squirrel S’, a former officer says a colleague who claimed to have got away with rape was a “legend in my eyes”.
Former Sgt Luke Thomas, former acting Sgt Luke Allen, former Pc Kelsey Buchan, former Pc Carlo Francisco, former Pc Lee South, former Pc Darren Jenner, Pc Glynn Rees, and Officer B, who was granted anonymity, faced a gross misconduct hearing in Fulham, West London, on Tuesday.
Daniel Hobbs, representing the Metropolitan Police, warned that the officers had created a “toxic and abhorrent culture”.
In one message, Mr Thomas says: “Another male police officer says he did once get away with rape on a weekend away in Butlins, so a legend in my eyes.”
The hearing also heard that messages shared in the chat mocked Katie Price’s disabled son, Harvey.
One officer wrote: “For a —- who can’t see he can find his way to the fridge and biscuit jar with little difficulty.”
Discussing dog names for one of the officers, name suggestions included ‘Adolf’ and ‘Auschwitz’.
Mr Hobbs told the misconduct panel that one of the officers made racist generalisations about the murder of black people.
READ MORE: Nicola Bulley police ‘turned down search help’ at height of hunt
He added that the officer had said that the comments were “crass and poorly thought out”.
Mr Hobbs continued: “It is more than that, it is racially discriminatory, it encourages violence against women. It is everything the police service strives not to promote but to protect the community.”
All eight officers involved in the hearing are said to have breached standards of professional behaviour relating to equality and diversity, authority, respect and courtesy, challenging and reporting improper conduct and discreditable conduct.
One of the three allegations against the officers involves comments and posts made by officers in the WhatsApp group, Another concerns comments made about a female colleague.
The third allegation of misconduct is in relation to the officers’ failure to report the content.
DON’T MISS:
Brutal attack on cyclist in front of screaming woman captured on CCTV
Prince Harry should have police protection when in the UK, poll finds
Woman dragged out of store after telling worker she’d been kidnapped
Mr Thomas, the most senior officer in the WhatsApp chat, faces an additional allegation of failing to adequately supervise his team and legitimising the “derisory chat”.
The hearing will continue.
This comes as the culture at the Met is already under intense scrutiny.
Earlier this month, Met officer David Carrick was jailed for life after pleading guilty to 49 sex offences.
In January, the Met was ordered to background check every officer.
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, ordered the checks to ensure no corrupt officers have “slipped through the net.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added: “There will be no place to hide for those who use their position to intimidate those women and girls or those who have failed to act to reprimand and remove those people from office.”
