UK police investigate official tweet criticising London mayor

Sadiq Khan says he did not give former chief an ultimatum to sack officers or face suspension herself

London’s Metropolitan Police admitted on Thursday a tweet from one of its accounts criticising the city mayor Sadiq Khan was unacceptable, in the sign of a growing rift after its chief quit in a racism scandal.

Mr Khan denied Cressida Dick, the force’s first woman chief constable, quit last week after an ultimatum by him to sack officers involved in a chat group exchanging abusive messages or face suspension herself.

He told a London radio station he had not known the commissioner was about to quit and had expected to continue a conversation with her about changing the culture within the force.

The now-deleted tweet from a Metropolitan Police account questioned Mr Khan’s knowledge of the police disciplinary system and the powers of the chief constable to sack officers.

An official Metropolitan Police Twitter account retweeted a message which read: “If the Mayor of London doesn't understand that the process for sacking officers is independent of chief constables ... well that's a bit of a problem.”

The account added the words “Exactly this”. Police officers can be sacked for gross misconduct after disciplinary hearings chaired by a senior officer from within the force. They have the initial right to appeal their sacking to a more senior officer, according to police regulations.

Mr Khan told LBC: "When you have Met Police accounts amplifying information that is misleading, how is it possible for officers concerned about behaviour or other officers to come forward?”

The Metropolitan Police said the tweet was being investigated by senior officers. They will be “reminding officers that they are expected to be independent and impartial at all times, on and off duty, including on social media,” the force said.

The departure of Ms Dick followed the publication of a report by a police watchdog that described racist, misogynistic and homophobic communications between officers at a police station in central London between 2016 and 2018.

One officer was fired and others were disciplined, but Mr Khan questioned why others had not gone. Ms Dick resigned after she said Mr Khan had made it clear he had no confidence in her plans to reform the service.

Ms Dick, who remains in her post while a successor is sought, still has strong support from within the 43,000-strong force, with one group representing rank-and-file officers declaring it had no faith in Mr Khan.

Mr Khan said: "I was angered and disgusted by what a number of Metropolitan Police officers - serving officers - said.

"I was concerned about the impact on trust and confidence. It is not the case that the commissioner was given an ultimatum to sack them or she would be sacked."

Home Secretary Priti Patel is ultimately responsible for appointing the most senior officer of the Metropolitan Police but requires “due regard” to the wishes of the London Mayor.

Mystery over prosecutions

Three police officers who worked with Wayne Couzens, the police officer who killed Sarah Everard, have been charged over allegations they shared racist and misogynistic messages with murderer.

Police detain a woman as people gather at a memorial site in Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London.

Two serving Metropolitan Police officers and one former officer have been charged with sending grossly offensive messages on WhatsApp, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) sent prosecutors a file on allegations the three shared racist and misogynistic messages with Couzens between April and August 2019.

The CPS said it cannot currently confirm the names of the officers for operational reasons.