1 year ago
18
Image source, PA Media
By Sima Kotecha
UK Editor, BBC Newsnight
Six erstwhile Metropolitan Police officers person been charged with sending racist messages connected WhatsApp aft a BBC Newsnight investigation.
The officers served successful assorted parts of the unit but each spent clip successful the Diplomatic Protection Group, present known arsenic the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
They were not serving during their alleged information successful the group.
But the BBC believes serving officers were successful the radical until aboriginal 2022.
A connection from the Met said: "The charges travel an probe by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards which was launched pursuing sum by the BBC's Newsnight programme successful October past year."
It said the officers, who retired betwixt 2001 and 2015, person been charged by station with offences nether Section 127(1) (a) of the Communications Act 2003.
They volition look astatine Westminster Magistrates' Court connected 7 September.
The ex-officers charged are:
- Peter Booth, 66 of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, charged with 4 counts of sending by nationalist connection grossly violative racist messages.
- Robert Lewis, 62 of Camberley, Surrey, charged with 8 counts of sending by nationalist connection grossly violative racist messages.
- Anthony Elsom, 67 of Bournemouth, Dorset, charged with 3 counts of sending by nationalist connection grossly violative racist messages.
- Alan Hall, 65 of Stowmarket, Suffolk, charged with 3 counts of sending by nationalist connection grossly violative racist messages.
- Michael Chadwell, 62 of Liss, Hampshire, charged with 1 number of sending by nationalist connection grossly violative racist messages.
- Trevor Lewton, 65 of Swansea, charged with 1 number of sending by nationalist connection grossly violative racist messages.
Last twelvemonth Newsnight was passed dozens of messages shared wrong the chat by a subordinate of the group.
The BBC has not reproduced the messages due to the fact that immoderate of them incorporate beardown radical slurs.
Some of the posts referenced the government's Rwanda policy, portion others joked astir caller flooding successful Pakistan, which near astir 1,700 radical dead.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex besides featured successful respective images alongside racist language.
Commander James Harman, who leads the Met's Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, said: "As soon arsenic we were made alert of these allegations we acted to motorboat an investigation.
"I americium pleased that pursuing the determined enactment of officers we person been capable to unafraid these charges.
"The honorable bulk of Met officers are afloat down this work.
"They are bushed of being fto down by a number successful policing and they are alert of the harm mediocre behaviour tin bash to our narration with the communities we serve.
"I recognise announcements astir the result of our investigations whitethorn person the imaginable to origin further nationalist concern, but I anticipation it demonstrates our implicit committedness to analyse immoderate corrupt and abusive behaviour from the Met."
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