Six white officers are taking the Metropolitan Police to an employment tribunal, accusing the force of racial discrimination and ‘political correctness gone mad’.
The men, all members of the Met’s Territorial Support Group, were acquitted two years ago in a trial relating to alleged race-related assaults, but claim that, since the court case took place, they have both been sidelined and victimised.
During the trial, one of the officers was accused of assaulting teenagers of Arab background in west London, while his colleague was alleged to have demonstrated threatening behaviour. The other four men were claimed to have covered up the incident.
The case went to court after a seventh member of the unit – a black officer – gave evidence against his former colleagues. All six were cleared at a trial at Kingston Crown Court in the autumn of 2009.
But Lynne Burns, the men’s solicitor, claimed that the police investigation into the officers’ conduct was racially biased and favoured the black officer’s evidence, adding that they would argue that they had been victimised during their tribunal hearing.
Bill Wilson, the sergeant who led the team and retired after a 30-year career with the police, also accused the Met of charging them because it feared accusations of ‘institutional racism’ if it did not act on the black officer’s compliant.
Huge changes
The force was labelled ‘institutionally racist’ in a report that followed the 1999 Macpherson Inquiry into the killing of black teenager, Stephen Lawrence. The men are arguing that they were treated unfairly following the huge reforms and changes to the Met’s decision-making culture that followed.
Wilson said: “If it had been a white officer making that allegation, then the matter would have been dealt with in-house there and then. That would have been the end of it.”
But if accusations against white police officers were made by members of ethnic minorities, the organisation tried so hard to appease them that “it is actually the white officers getting discriminated against”, he added.
“I think they are terrified of this label of ‘institutional racism’ and they are terrified of being accused of not taking a black officer’s allegations seriously because that could be twisted around to say they are ignoring him because he is an ethnic minority officer. It’s political correctness gone mad,” said Wilson.
But a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police denied the allegations and said the force would defend its actions in court. "The Metropolitan Police Service is committed to ensuring that any allegations of wrongdoing by officers or staff are investigated fairly and proportionately no matter who makes the allegation or against whom it is made,” he said.
The employment tribunal claim had been stayed for the time being pending the conclusion of an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation, which was outside of its control, he added.
