Sadiq Khan says the Metropolitan Police are not providing the support Londoners need in the wake of the Child Q scandal.
Child Q refers to a girl who was strip-searched by female officers at her school in 2020 without another adult present and in the knowledge that she was menstruating.
A review conducted by City & Hackney Safeguarding Children Partnership (CHSCP) and published last week concluded that the search should never have taken place and racism “was likely to have been an influencing factor”.
And the London Mayor believes that the latest incident is “another example of the Met Police service falling below the standards we expect from them”.
Sadiq Khan
Dominic Lipinski
New Scotland Yard
Kirsty O'Connor
Mr Khan said: “The current Commissioner may not like it, the Met Police Federation may not like it, but I think there are deep cultural issues in the police service in relation to racism, sexism, homophobia, discrimination and the like.
"Society will be less safe for everyone if certain communities cannot trust or have confidence in the officers that police Britain’s streets."
Mr Khan went on to say that he hopes the new Commissioner will bring forward a plan to bring confidence back in the police from the people of the city.
“It’s possible to say on the one hand, we’ve got many, many, decent, dedicated, brave officers but, on the other hand, the Met Police leadership isn’t providing the support that they need or that we need as a city.”
The Met has apologised and said the incident “should never have happened”.
Three police officers are under investigation for misconduct by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).