Met Police crisis: ‘Enough is enough’, Dame Cressida Dick tells beleaguered force

Met Police chief Dame Cressida Dick has told the force “enough is enough” and warned “shameful” actions risk losing the consent of the public.

The embattled commissioner has vowed to eliminate “nasty and inappropriate behaviour” in a letter sent to all 43,000 staff and officers in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

The Sunday Telegraph newspaper revealed the under-fire chief issued a stark warning to her officers: “If this is you I have a message: the Met does not want you. Leave now”.

It comes as the force is embroiled in a string of scandals shaking public confidence in policing - and days after LondonWorld exclusively revealed the police watchdog is set to investigate fresh allegations of officers having sex with suspects at Charing Cross station.

A disturbing Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) report last week unveiled vile messages from officers at Charing Cross - joking about rape, racism and domestic abuse.

Amidst the backlash to the damning accusations, which saw the watchdog deliver 15 calls for improvement, London mayor Sadiq Khan summoned Dame Cressida to a crisis meeting - warning her she had “days and weeks, not months” to fix the force’s culture problem.

In the letter, she wrote: “Our reputation is tarnished and people’s confidence in us has fallen.

“This is serious and it is urgent. To lose public consent would be unthinkable.

“Action is needed now. Enough is enough.”

And she told colleagues “brilliant [police] work” had been “overshadowed by appalling instances of utterly unprofessional conduct and criminality by colleagues” over the last year.

Dame Cressida, who has faced calls to quit over the repeated scandal, continued: “Over the last few months we have seen a depressing number of shameful cases that not only threaten public trust, confidence and consent, but also are drowning out the extraordinary achievements of this fantastic police service.

“I know the vast majority of our officers and staff are dedicated and passionate about keeping London safe, and doing the right thing. I need you to do the right thing, now.

“That means being professional and calling out all bad behaviour or prejudice. To not do so, to turn away or ignore where standards fall, is a failure of responsibility.

“We are all more scrutinised than ever. And what you may regard as ‘private’ (in social media or WhatsApp, for example) can all too easily now and in the future become public.

“I know it takes courage to speak out. I want you to know you have my personal support to make yourself heard. Call it out, tell someone you trust, don’t let it continue.

“This is of course incredibly important for supervisors and leaders but it is equally important for every single one of us.

“Standing by is not an option.”

Top government fixer Dame Louise Casey today begins a probe into the force’s culture, announced after the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, by serving cop Wayne Couzens.

The Angiolini public inquiry will also assess whether red flags about Couzens - who was reportedly dubbed ‘the rapist’ by colleagues - were missed by Met leadership.

But critics have called for the inquiry to be given statutory powers - giving it legal heft.

While shortly after Couzens’ crimes came to light, two further serving officers were jailed for photographing of the bodies of murdered sisters Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46.

Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 33, were each given almost three years behind bars, after the victims’ mother, the Ven Mina Smallman, said the family had “been to hell and back”.

Are you a current or former Met police officer or victim of crime in London? You can speak to us about your experiences in the strictest of confidentiality.

Email senior reporter Jessica Frank-Keyes on jessica.frank-key[email protected] or DM @JessicaFKeyes on Twitter for WhatsApp.