The National Black Police Association (NBPA) and the National Sikh Police Association UK (NSPAUK) are deeply concerned, though regrettably not surprised, by the latest revelations of misconduct in the Metropolitan Police.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct’s Operation Hotton report exposed abhorrent racism, misogyny and homophobia within the Met. Promises of change followed, yet shocking evidence now shows those promises have not been delivered.
Most disturbing is the phrase “I hate N*****s” scratched into a staff toilet wall. This hateful act underlines that toxic cultures remain alive and unchecked in the Metropolitan Police Service. Baroness Casey was due to return in March 2025, two years on from her landmark review, to assess progress. The Commissioner’s refusal to allow her back is deeply troubling – at best enabling misconduct to continue, at worst covering up wrongdoing. Independent
scrutiny must be reinstated without delay.
Oversight has also failed. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime has not been intrusive enough, allowing harmful cultures to persist.
Yet despite extreme problems at its core, the Met is still permitted to dictate national policing policy. The Home Office must now limit its influence until it can demonstrate reform.
We are working with the BCU Commander to support our members, but words are no longer enough. The Met must stop being defensive and work with us in genuine partnership to deliver lasting change.
Ultimately, the Met has become too large, too defensive, and too resistant to reform. If it cannot change, it must be broken up, so Londoners, and the country, finally have a police service they can trust. The so-called ‘New Met for London’ has failed to live up to its promise.
Instead of meaningful reform, the organisation appears to be retreating from genuine engagement, with attempts through its Culture, Diversity and Inclusion department to dismantle the very staff networks that provide essential support and a collective voice for officers with protected characteristics. Such actions undermine trust internally and send a damaging message to communities externally.
NBPA President Andy George commented “As President of the NBPA, I cannot accept that in 2025 we are still uncovering racism so blatant it is scratched into the walls of police stations. We see the same pattern time and again, shocking behaviours are exposed, promises of reform are made, but nothing changes, and the next scandal simply buries the last one. The Met has resisted change for too long, if it cannot reform itself, it must be broken up so trust in policing can finally be rebuilt.”
President of NSPAUK Kameldeep Singh Samra, said: “For Sikh colleagues, and for all officers and staff from minority backgrounds, the failure to tackle institutional racism and religious intolerance is a daily burden. There is a stark disconnect between public promises and internal reality – where prejudice is literally etched into the walls, and the very staff networks designed to support us are being curtailed. The refusal of the MPS to accept the ‘institutional’ nature of its problems leaves root causes unchallenged. This failure reverberates far beyond London: as the UK’s largest and most influential police service, the Met’s resistance to reform undermines progress in every force, leaving minority officers nationally feeling unsupported, silenced, and less safe at work.”