Two officers involved in Child Q strip search removed from frontline duties

24 March 2022, 10:06

Two of the five police officers involved in the strip search of a 15-year-old black girl have been removed from frontline duties, the Met has confirmed.

The development emerged at an online community meeting last night viewed by more than 250 people.

Hackney police’s Basic Unit commander Marcus Barnett said the Met has an issue with viewing inner London children as adults.

He also said what happened to Child Q would probably not have happened to a child living in the Cotswolds.

Nick Ferrari corrects caller over schoolgirl strip search

Mr Barnett said the school “probably should not have called us and we should probably have understood very quickly that we had no role to play there”.

Accountability for the strip-search of schoolgirl Child Q needs to be of a 'George Floyd standard'

Child Q was pulled out of an exam and put through an invasive strip search while on her period by two Met officers. Her parents were not informed and no drugs were found.

A safeguarding report found the search was unjustified and racism was “likely” to have been a factor in the search.

Her family are suing the Met police and the school “to ensure this never happens again to any other child.”

Philip Glanville, Hackney’s mayor, has called for the head teacher of the school to resign as “part of the process” to bring about change. 

The "school leadership has lost the confidence of the school, myself and the community", he added.