Muslim police chief Dizaei is charged

Commander Ali Dizaei, one of the most senior Muslim police officers in Britain, was charged yesterday with misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice.

Dizaei, president of the National Black Police Association, has been suspended from the force since last September. The allegations followed an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

They are linked to an incident outside Yas. a Middle Eastern restaurant in Kensington, on 18 July last year. Dizaei, who was in uniform, arrested a businessman after a row in which he claimed he was poked with the mouthpiece of a hookah.

Last December Dizaei accused Scotland Yard of "systematic" discrimination.