Police chief in court over 'restaurant scuffle'

One of the most senior Muslim police officers in Britain appeared in court today charged in connection with a scuffle in a restaurant.

Metropolitan Police Commander Ali Dizaei, 47, is charged with misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice.

He appeared at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court today and was bailed to appear again at Southwark Crown Court on 5 August.

Dizaei, president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), has been suspended from the force since last September.

Wearing a pink tie and shirt with a black suit, Dizaei spoke only to confirm his name during the five-minute hearing.

He was represented by high-profile human rights solicitor Imran Khan, who declined to comment to reporters outside the court.

The allegations follow an investigation by officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

They are linked to an incident outside the Middle Eastern Yas restaurant in Kensington, south west London, on July 18 last year.

Dizaei, who was wearing his uniform, arrested a young businessman called Waad Al-Baghdadi after a row in which he claimed he was poked with the mouthpiece of a hookah water pipe.

The charges accuse Dizaei of making false allegations of a crime and other acts which led to the "risk of imprisonment pending trial, and wrongful conviction and punishment", of Mr Al-Baghdadi.

He is also accused of wilfully engaging in misconduct to the extent that it amounted to an abuse of the public's trust in his office as police commander.

It is the second time Dizaei, who gave his address in court as care of Oxon Solicitors, has been accused of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.

He stood trial at the Old Bailey in 2003 after it was claimed he lied about vandalism to his car. He was cleared on both counts.

The 2003 Old Bailey case was brought in the wake of a multimillion-pound secret undercover operation known as Operation Helios.

In his role as president of the NBPA, Dizaei lined up with critics of Sir Ian Blair's regime and was a close confidant of former assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur.

Last December, Dizaei launched a race claim against Scotland Yard, claiming "systematic" discrimination.