Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has met any representatives of the Metropolitan Police to discuss the finding of the Independent Office for Police Conduct in relation to the behaviour of officers at Charing Cross Police Station.

The Home Secretary was appalled to learn of the behaviour of Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers following publication of the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s (IOPC) investigation report on Operation Hotton.

Being a police officer is a privilege which has been abused by these officers, and standards must be raised. The Home Secretary met the MPS Commissioner to discuss her concerns about the IOPC’s findings, and expects the MPS and the Mayor of London to implement the 15 recommendations of the report as soon as practically possible.

The Home Secretary has also asked the independent policing inspectorate, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), to review vetting and counter-corruption arrangements in policing across England and Wales – looking in particular at what forces are doing to identify and deal with misogynistic and predatory behaviour.

This work is underway – and it is anticipated that HMICFRS will publish a report before the summer – providing part of the evidence base informing Phase 2 of the Angiolini Inquiry.