"Racist, misogynist, homophobic" - scathing testimony for London police

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has admitted a loss of confidence in the agency after a devastating report on the culture within the London police force. "Right now, trust in the police has been hugely damaged by what we've learned over the past year," Sunak said in a BBC interview on Tuesday. Asked afterwards if he thought his daughters could trust the police in London, he said: "Obviously we have to make sure the answer to that question is yes."

The independent investigative report released on Tuesday called London police institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic. Violence against women and girls was not taken seriously. There is also widespread bullying, sexism and homophobia in the agency.

The report was commissioned after a police officer kidnapped 33-year-old Londoner Sarah Everard using his ID card in March 2021, then raped and murdered her. Even after that, scandals came to light. In February, an officer was sentenced to decades in prison after nearly 20 years of repeatedly raping a dozen women.

British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called on the new police leadership to get the situation under control. "The report makes it clear that there are systemic and ongoing issues in leadership and organizational culture," she told Sky News.

The current chief of police, Mark Rowley, has been in office for around six months. He promised to take tough action and by the end of March publish an interim report on how many problematic officials had already been removed from the service. "We have racists, misogynists and homophobes in the organization," Rowley admitted. “We have already suspended people. We're investigating people. We'll throw them out," he promised in the Sky News interview.