Is racism in the force still being whitewashed by the Met Police?

Public servants should be at the forefront of trying to change negative perceptions

(Getty Images)

Given its history, and repeated promises to learn from past mistakes, might it have been too much to hope that the modern Metropolitan Police would be able to deal adequately with allegations of online racism by officers? To judge from the verdict of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, it seems so.

Last year, claims emerged in relation to comments made on an invitation-only Facebook page called “I’ve Met the Met” – many of whose members are understood to be serving police or retired officers. Threads showed participants displaying alarming attitudes towards Gypsies and Travellers. Yet Scotland Yard’s internal investigation concluded last month, without formal disciplinary action being taken against anyone; the inquiry was labelled a “whitewash” by the Traveller Movement charity.

The IPCC appears to agree, noting that the officer in charge did not contact any of the implicated officers, nor was he able to ascertain whether they had “liked” any of the offensive comments. Those failings demonstrate a troubling lack of rigour. Would there have been a similar level of complacency had the attacks been directed at other minority groups?

Discrimination against Gypsies and Travellers has not been tackled as effectively as other manifestations of racism, yet that cannot be an excuse in this case. Public servants should be at the forefront of trying to change negative perceptions. The Met must do better.