Five ex-Met Police officers plead guilty to sending ‘grossly offensive’ racist messages on WhatsApp including about the Duchess of Sussex and migrants being sent to Rwanda
- The five pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday
Five former Metropolitan Police officers have pleaded guilty to sending grossly offensive racist messages on WhatsApp.
The text messages include racist remarks about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as well as comments about sending migrants to Rwanda.
According to the charges, some of the messages shared in the chat referenced the Prince and Princess of Wales, the late Queen and Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Sickening racist jokes about Romanians, Chinese and other nationalities were also shared in the private group titled ‘Old Boys Beer Meet – Wales’.
They also made remarks about former Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, as well as deadly floods in Pakistan, which killed thousands of people.
The five ex-officers entered their guilty pleas at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday afternoon.
The text messages include racist remarks about the Duchess of Sussex
The WhatsApp group is also alleged to have included comments about deadly floods in Pakistan, which killed thousands of people. Pictured: Floods in Dadu district of Sindh province, in September 2022
Five former Metropolitan Police officers have pleaded guilty to sending grossly offensive racist messages on WhatsApp (stock image)
Peter Booth, 66, Robert Lewis, 62, Anthony Elsom, 67, Alan Hall, 65, and Trevor Lewton, 65, pleaded guilty to sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages at Westminster Magistrates’ Court this afternoon.
Lewis, who retired from the Met in May 2015, has since been sacked by the Home Office from his post with the Border Force.
Booth, of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, who retired from the Met in April 2001, pleaded guilty to four counts of the charge.
READ MORE: Pictured: Serving Met Police officer, 23, accused of repeatedly raping a woman, forcing her into a car and threatening to kill her
Lewis, of Camberley, Surrey, admitted eight counts. He retired from the Met in May 2015 and became a Home Office official before he was dismissed for gross misconduct last November, according to the government department.
Elsom, of Bournemouth, Dorset, who retired from the Met in May 2012, pleaded guilty to three counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.
Hall, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, entered guilty pleas to three counts of the same charge. He retired from the Met in June 2015.
And Lewton, of Swansea, South Wales, who retired from the Met in August 2009, pleaded guilty to one count.
A sixth officer, Michael Chadwell, 62, of Hampshire, denies one like charge and disputes that the message was ‘grossly offensive’. He retired in November 2015.
The officers who pleaded guilty will be sentenced after Chadwell’s trial on a date to be fixed.
The maximum sentence for the offence is six months jail and or a fine.
The men served in various parts of the Met throughout their careers but all spent time in the Diplomatic Protection Group, now known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. All the officers retired between 2001 and 2015.
After the men were charged, Commander James Harman, who leads the Met’s Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, said: ‘We are working relentlessly to rebuild the trust of the public which has understandably been dented by a number of high profile incidents and investigations in recent years which have involved officers or former officers.
‘The honest majority of Met officers are fully behind this work. They are tired of being let down by a minority in policing and they are aware of the damage poor behaviour can do to our relationship with the communities we serve.
‘I recognise announcements about the outcome of our investigations may have the potential to cause further public concern, but I hope it demonstrates our absolute commitment to investigate any corrupt and abusive behaviour from the Met.
‘I hope the public will recognise that we are determined to take the necessary measures to investigate any wrongdoing wherever we find it.’
The charges, which relate to messages shared between September 2020 and 2022, come after a BBC Newsnight investigation in October last year that prompted a probe by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
The officers, who retired between 2001 and 2015, were charged by post with offences under the Communications Act 2003.
The five men were not serving at any point during their participation in the group, the Met made clear.
It added that they served in various parts of the Met throughout their careers and all spent time in what is now known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
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