UK rights organisation files legal complaint, demands dismissal of Metropolitan Police Commissioner

Legal Action for Peace, a UK organisation of lawyers and human rights advocates which challenges anti-Muslim hatred and anti-Arab discrimination, has filed a formal complaint with the Mayor of London demanding an inquiry into the Metropolitan Police Service’s failure to use their powers to restrict Tommy Robinson using his ‘Unite the Kingdom’ protest to incite violence against the Muslim Community. 

In a press statement issued on 6th October the organisation said the Metropolitan Police’s failure is followed by the recent damning BBC Panorama investigation which exposed police officers displaying horrific racist beliefs and perpetuating physical violence against members of the public. 

The complaint states that recent events confirm the Metropolitan Police remains institutionally racist under the leadership of its Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley. 

The Panorama investigation, which involved seven months of undercover filming, exposed a toxic culture of bigotry within the Metropolitan Police Force Officers. It recorded officers: 

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• Joking about rape and using horrific misogynistic language. 
• Boasting about using excessive force against suspects and discussing falsifying statements. 
• Expressing anti-Muslim sentiments and calling for immigrants to be shot, with one officer saying, “Either put a bullet through his head or deport him”. 
• Displaying deeply discriminatory attitudes towards vulnerable people, including dismissively handling a rape complaint. 

The Legal Action for Peace statement read: 

“In the run up to Robinson’s protest, we have had a Muslim restaurant set on fire whilst people were eating. 6 people suffered serious burns, two with life-changing injuries, we have seen mosques and Muslim cemeteries attacked. Following Robinson’s protest, we have seen an Imam followed and stabbed three times, a Mosque in Peacehaven set alight, Muslim women and children attacked on the streets and we have seen a synagogue attacked where two people were killed. Sir Mark Rowley is fully aware that the violent rhetoric and conspiracies spouted by the likes of Tommy Robinson and his supporters have serious consequences.” 

The organisation called on the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and the Mayor of London to exercise their powers, “hold the Commissioner accountable, and initiate a process to appoint a leader who will not only acknowledge the depth of the crisis but also take decisive and visible action to end it.” 

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Full Statement