OFFICERS placed under an ethics investigation for allegedly participating in a WhatsApp group containing Islamophobic and misogynistic messages have been allowed to interact with the public while the probe is ongoing, Islington’s top cop has admitted.

Speaking at a council scrutiny meeting, Borough Commander Jason Stewart said that officers implicated in the affair were under “differing levels of restrictions”.

Asked whether the officers had been on “desk duties” since the messages were first reported in March 2024, he said: “Some have. My understanding is that some of them are under restrictions where they can’t have contact with the public.

“Some that were deemed less serious, it might be restrictions such as you always have to be supervised, or be with another officer, or always use your body-worn video.

“There are differing levels of restrictions in there. But there is a number that are confined to desk duties, yes.”

The contents of the WhatsApp messages have not been made public, but 12 of the 14 officers in the group were put on desk duties after the group was reported.

The officers were all part of a “front-line policing” emergency response team covering Islington and Camden.

It is alleged that one officer made offensive comments, and a number of others supported those comments and did not report them. One officer challenged them and left the group, while another officer invited into the group reported what had happened.

At the time, Commander Owain Richard, who was in charge of front-line policing for the area, said: “Discriminatory language of any kind will not be tolerated and action will be taken against any officer where the investigation establishes evidence of wrongdoing.”

Eighteen months later, Chief Superintendent Stewart told the committee this week that “the investigation side is concluded” and that they were “in the process of arranging those sanctions”.

He said: “The headline answer at the moment is that several officers will be facing some form of sanction, either a gross misconduct board, where the greatest sanction is that they are removed from the service, or a misconduct board, where they could receive something such as a written warning or a final written warning.”

Ch Supt Stewart’s comments came after a discussion about ongoing challenges in the Metropolitan Police Service following the 2023 review findings of Baroness Louise Casey that the force was institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

The borough commander was asked why an update on the incident in Islington had not been included in his report to the committee, to which he answered: “It’s purely focusing on what’s relevant here and now. I wasn’t expecting you to want me to comment on a long-standing case.”
He added: “Culture is still a challenge for all at the Met, and it is here in Islington and Camden.

“We do still have officers under investigation for a number of issues.

“We continue to look at how we can challenge that behaviour at a very early level.

“Whilst we had some shocking revelations and recommendations in the Casey report, the work is not done on that. “It’s a collective problem we need to solve as the Met.”