-
Question
The shadow expresses horror at the messages published in the IOPC report. He questions the Mayor of London's accountability regarding police misconduct and suggests legislative changes to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, an expansion of Baroness Casey’s review, and a confidential complaints system for whistleblowers.
Minister reply
Kit Malthouse acknowledges the seriousness of the messages and confirms that disciplinary action has been taken. He agrees to look into changing the law as suggested by Matthew Offord. The minister also mentions his intention to meet with Dame Louise Casey to ensure her review covers cultural issues comprehensively. Additionally, he emphasises the importance of leadership projecting confidence in whistleblowing practices.
-
Question
Expresses dismay at the IOPC report and calls for immediate action on police training, misuse of social media, racism within forces, statutory footing for the Angiolini inquiry, and strategic policing requirements.
Minister reply
Acknowledges the urgency but explains ongoing work with NPCC on inappropriate social media use and the scrutiny panel for race equality. The Angiolini inquiry is non-statutory to maintain speed; will consider making it statutory if needed.
-
Question
Expresses disgust at events described in the IOPC report and welcomes the review by Dame Louise Casey.
Minister reply
Shares her sentiment, highlights ongoing work to improve policing and the high numbers of female and BAME officers joining forces.
-
Question
Questions the appropriateness of online-only recruitment processes for police, citing concerns about vetting procedures.
Minister reply
Explains that innovative methods were necessary during the pandemic but are now being reviewed; a general inquiry is looking into vetting procedures to ensure consistency and thoroughness.
-
Question
Asks for quicker completion of investigations, citing long-term investigations in Hampshire.
Minister reply
Explains recent reforms to speed up IOPC inquiries; requires the IOPC to explain delays exceeding 12 months and emphasises transparency.
-
Question
Critiques Met Commissioner Cressida Dick for leadership failures, questioning why her term was extended.
Minister reply
Explains that the commissioner acted swiftly to disband problematic units upon discovering issues and that she is considered best suited for the role.
-
Question
As someone who represents a central London constituency, I am shocked and horrified by these revelations and the toxic culture that it represents in some parts of the Metropolitan police. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that he will bring up these concerns with the Mayor of London, because the Mayor needs to take responsibility for sorting out the culture of the Metropolitan police?
Minister reply
As somebody who served in City Hall as deputy mayor for policing, I can tell the House that the intention of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 was to ensure that the forensic examination of Met performance and internal processes could be done as close to the frontline as possible and that the Mayor should be in the driving seat.
-
Question
As one of the two Members of Parliament for Westminster, I have always greatly valued and supported the work of our local police. Policing a young, modern, diverse city such as Westminster and London is founded on trust. That trust will also be reflected by having a police service that reflects London in all its forms. Will the Minister tell us what immediate steps he is taking to review the progress in ensuring that London’s police service is as diverse as the city it polices?
Minister reply
Hon. Members will have seen that, as part of our uplift programme not just in London but elsewhere, we are specifically pushing to increase diversity both in terms of gender and race within policing. That is important nowhere more than in London and we have been working closely with the Metropolitan police to maximise the possibility of people from a BME background and women joining the police force.
-
Question
The Minister will be aware that I have spoken about the issue of the Met police on several occasions. How can I reassure my diverse community that they can have confidence and trust in the police? The report has blown the confidence out, making young black children, LGBT people, and women feel let down by the police.
Minister reply
Having wrestled with these issues in the past, I completely agree with the hon. Lady that it is totally critical that there is a strong bond of trust with communities who have perhaps had a fractious relationship with the police. The best thing they can do is decide to be the change themselves and put forward their brightest and best to be police officers.
-
Question
Cutting 21,000 police officers since 2010 has led to a rush to recruit officers to backfill those gaps. Does the Minister think that recruiting people purely through online interviews and vetting them online is suitable for a customer-facing, hands-on service?
Minister reply
It is worth pointing out that while the assessment process was online, once those police officers enter training they are constantly assessed throughout their training on whether or not they are suitable. We continue to monitor their performance not just through training and in the immediate months after their acquisition but thereafter.
-
Question
The report was chilling, particularly concerning sexist discrimination and sexual harassment. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall, I have had young women in my constituency writing to me saying they do not feel safe walking around at night in their constituencies. Can the Minister set out some tangible steps the Government are taking to ensure that misogyny is tackled?
Minister reply
As I explained earlier, we are engaging at all levels with the various action plans in place to try to bring change in policing. We are also sending inspectors to look at their vetting and anti-corruption processes to make sure they are functioning well.
-
Question
The case reinforces profound concern about the level of violence towards women and lack of accountability for men responsible for that violence. Given the seriousness of this report, will the Minister stop procrastinating and make violence against women and girls a strategic policing priority?
Minister reply
We have not refused at all. We are considering it along with all other horrendous crimes in the country. Our findings on the strategic policing requirement will be published shortly.
-
Question
I am the only female former police officer currently serving in this place. Training is absolutely vital, and post the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, all police officers attended three days of diversity training. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure a similar approach?
Minister reply
The hon. Lady speaks with knowledge and she is exactly right. We are in intensive conversation with the College of Policing under new leadership to ensure that we get the package of training exactly right, especially for modern phenomena such as social media.
-
Question
The findings were deeply shocking and show deep-rooted structural problems in the Metropolitan police. Does the Minister agree that to tackle this broken culture, we also need to change the commissioner?
Minister reply
I recognise that media coverage has the tendency to compress time. It is worth pointing out that the issue came to light in 2017 and the unit was disbanded in 2018. Charing Cross police station was merged into a wider borough operational command under new leadership committed to driving out this kind of appalling behaviour.
-
Question
This cultural problem does not just apply to Charing Cross or the Met but extends to senior levels. The chief superintendent led a three-borough basic command unit found guilty of gross misconduct. Will any reviews address cultures within our police forces right up to the top of senior levels?
Minister reply
That is our intention.
-
Question
The report not only makes for incredibly uncomfortable and difficult reading, but destroys public confidence. This is not just about the Met. Alongside the Government’s failure in the criminal justice system, where victims are let down and rape prosecutions have fallen to just 1.3%, how can the Minister expect victims of serious sexual assault and rape across the country to come forward? What will he do about that?
Minister reply
I have previously expressed sincere regret for the results in the criminal justice system on rape. I hope the hon. Lady will recognise that some of our actions—not least Operation Soteria, which is showing good signs of making progress in this area—will give people more confidence in getting a result. However, the incidence of reported rape in this country continues to rise as more and more people come forward to report that appalling crime, and we must ensure that they are confident of getting justice through the criminal justice system.
-
Question
The IOPC’s report was truly damning, but it is not the only example of misogyny in the Met police that has come to light in the past couple of weeks. The Met has also been made to pay compensation to a woman in Nottingham who was deceived into a relationship with an undercover officer, and it has been made to apologise to my constituent Dr Koshka Duff for misogynistic and derogatory comments made before and after a strip search. Does the Minister agree with the report’s conclusion that the incidents the IOPC investigated are not isolated or simply the behaviour of a few ‘bad apples’? Will he commit to an independent, public, statutory inquiry into institutional misogyny in the Metropolitan police?
Minister reply
Given the incidents we have seen—I too was appalled by the incident to which the hon. Lady refers—it is hard not to agree with the IOPC conclusions. As I have explained in the past few minutes, several inquiries in this area are ongoing within the Met, and I think it best to wait for them to conclude before deciding on what the next steps may be.