Met cops joked about raping women in sick WhatsApp messages & dubbed officer ‘mcrapey raperson’, bombshell report finds
LONDON police joked about raping women in sick WhatsApp messages, a bombshell report has found.
Cops dubbed one officer "mcrapey raperson" among other highly offensive language which was dismissed as "banter".
The messages were exchanged on WhatsApp and Facebook by a now disbanded Westminster police unit between 2016 and 2018, according to the report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
They made multiple references to sexual violence including "I would happily rape you";, while in another discussion an officer said he hit his girlfriend as "it makes them love you more".
In another disturbing message, an officer sickeningly boasts about domestic violence saying "knock a bird about and she will love you" adding they are "biologically programmed to like that s**&;”.
One police officer repeatedly boasted about having sex with a prostitute he met through work.
And another was referred to as "mcrapey raperson" after he was rumoured to have brought a woman to a police station for sex.
The messages also feature the use of homophobic and racist language, including references to African children, Somalis and the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, the report said.
There were also references to so-called Muslim "fanatics" and the use of offensive terms for disabled people.
The watchdog took the unusual step of publishing the messages in full - despite the fact that much of the content is too offensive to print in mainstream news coverage.
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It follows calls to address sexism and misogyny in the police after the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving London officer last year.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was "utterly disgusted" by the police behaviour detailed in the report.
"It is right that the team concerned has been disbanded and the police officers found to be involved have been dismissed, disciplined or have left the police," he said.
"Anyone found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, antisemitism, bullying or harassment does not deserve to wear the Met uniform and must be rooted out," Khan said, referring to the Metropolitan Police working in the London area.
The IOPC found that the offensive language was dismissed as so-called "banter" to hide bullying and harrassment, and that officers felt unable to raise concerns.
"We know from other recent cases that these issues are not isolated or historic," IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said.
The IOPC investigated 14 Metropolitan Police officers, two of whom had a case to answer for gross misconduct.
One of those was sacked and one resigned.
Misconduct was proven against another two, one of whom received a written warning, while another four had internal measures to improve their performance, the report said.
'SICKENING'
Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Bas Javid said he was "angry and disappointed to see officers involved in sharing sexist, racist and discriminatory messages".
"It's clear we have a lot of work to do to ensure bullying and discrimination does not exist in any part of the Met," he said.
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The government is conducting a review of culture and standards in the London police force in the wake of Everard's murder.
Home Secretary Priti Patel called the officers "sickening" and told bosses at the force "standards must be raised" in the wake of the report.
