21 March 2023 , 13:16
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A former Metropolitan Police superintendent who's suing the force over ‘racist and sexist abuse’ is calling for Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to resign following the damning Casey report.
The Met Police review found it to be institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic.
However, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley refused to use the term “institutional racism”, calling it “unhelpful.”
Former top female officer Nusrit Mehtab said he “should go”, and that someone who accepts the term should lead the Met.
Nusrit said that any of the testimonies in the Casey report could have been her, after she also claimed to experience racism within the force. She said a swastika was drawn in a part of her police station that was only accessible by staff.
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She told the Mirror: “Those testimonies you see in the Casey report could be mine or could be any other Black and Asian officers.
“I've pointed out the swastika. Nobody believed me on that.”
Nusrit says that she raised concerns about racism while former Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick was in charge (Nusrit Mehtab)Sir Mark Rowley said he did not use the term "institutional racism", as he found it "ambiguous".
He told Sky News: "I absolutely accept the diagnosis that Louise Casey comes up with. We have racists, misogynists and homophobes in the organisation. And it's not just about individuals.
"We have systemic failings, management failings and cultural failings. Everyone uses different definitions.
"We've got toxic individuals, some of whom who've got concerns about their predatory behaviour. We've got people suspended. We've got people under investigation. We are rooting them out of this organisation," he said.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says the term "institutional racism" is "unhelpful" (PA)The report comes a month before the anniversary of Stephen Lawrence’s death, who was murdered by racist thugs in London in 1993.
An investigation by the Met Police into his killing was found to be "marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism, and a failure of leadership", following the Macpherson report.
The report defined institutional racism as “the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin".
Nusrit said that by definition, Sir Mark Rowley was exhibiting a failure of leadership by refusing to acknowledge the institutional racism found by Baroness Casey.
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Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered by racist thugs but the Macpherson report found that the investigation into his death was 'marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership' (PA)She said: “He actually shows that it's the failure of the leadership. It’s classic denial. How is this man then going to lead a review where he's already been resistant?
“But I would question now that if we allow him to stay in post, how is he really going to deliver the changes needed?
“Because if you don't realise there's a problem, you can't address it.”
Nusrit said that as Sir Mark Rowley refused to use the term “institutional racism”, he wasn't the right person for the job and was “giving courage to officers" to say "there isn’t a problem".
She said: “What Mark Rowley’s done is he's replicated that, ‘we know best. There's problems but their not institutional’.
“What he's doing is giving courage to his workers to say there's not a problem. It’s very dangerous.
“He cannot defend this. If he doesn't accept it. They should try to put somebody else that will run with it.”
Athlete Ricardo Santos who was stopped by police and handcuffed with his partner Bianca Williams July 2020 while their three-month-old baby sat in the car, has also hit back at the Commissioner's stance.
Ricardo Dos Santos published footage of the incident on Twitter (Getty Images)After making a complaint about the incident, his case was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which stated that five officers would face a gross misconduct hearing.
He was stopped again in August 2022 and made another complaint, which the Met was investigating.
Ricardo said: “It would take a miracle for them to actually put their hands up and accept [the force has institutional racism].
“I honestly don't believe they will ever come out and say 'we are institutionally racist'.
"I've been screaming [about racism in the Met] for the past three years. Now it's like people can actually see what I've been saying and it's a bit more believable now.
“If somebody new comes in and is the first to admit it and to put forward actual changes, then then we're on the right path from that.”
Ricardo says that during the incident last August, police only stopped grabbing him once they realised his car camera's were recording (Ricardo Dos Santos)Both the former superintendent and the athlete said the Met should be dissolved, and that as it stands, it has "too much power".
Ricardo said: “When you have too much power, you have too much control. And obviously, with too much control, you think you can get away with anything and everything.”
Commissioner Rowley said: “Trust in policing among London’s Black and minority ethnic communities is far too low, and trust among other groups – women, the LGBT+ and disabled communities and religious groups for example has also been shaken.
“The responsibility for strengthening these relationships starts with accepting that the mistrust stems from communities’ experiences of policing over decades and from prominent cases – some in the very recent past – that have profoundly shaken public confidence.
“I recommit us to ridding the Met of those who exhibit such toxic behaviours and to fixing the systems, management and processes that have failed to tackle it, or have made it worse.”
The Met Police said it wouldn't be commenting further on Nusrit's claims.