Two serving police officers sacked after misconduct hearing into racist and sexist messages in sick WhatsApp group

9 December 2022, 18:31 | Updated: 9 December 2022, 19:58

Two serving police officers have been sacked following a misconduct hearing into a WhatsApp group, in which racist and sexist messages were shared with other constables.

Met Pc Gary Bailey and Pc Matthew Forster, from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, were dismissed after an independently-chaired disciplinary panel found the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) case against the officers had been proved.

It also found the case against former Met Pcs Joel Borders, Jonathon Cobban and William Neville, as well as former Norfolk Constabulary Pc Daniel Comfort, to be true.

To build its case against the officers, the IOPC analysed more than 6,000 messages which included racist and homophobic comments, and derogatory remarks aimed at domestic abuse victims, people with disabilities and women.

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An IOPC spokesman said: "The 'Bottles and Stoppers' chat group, as it was called, dated back to February 2019. All the officers involved had previously worked for CNC but had transferred to the MPS when the messages were sent.

"During our investigation, we analysed more than 6,000 messages which included racist and homophobic comments, and derogatory remarks aimed at domestic abuse victims, people with disabilities, and women.

"Examples included comments about starving African children eating flies; references to 'filthy Feltham' in the context of the area's diversity, 'grooming' of young foreign girls by buying them prawn balls, and the Tasering of children and animals; use of offensive terms such as 'mong' and 'pikey', and the comment 'they only have to say yes once' in a clear reference to rape and/or sexual assault.

"A remark about 'dodgy' showers at Auschwitz prompted the response 'very popular tho. I heard people were queuing up to go in them'."

IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: "The views expressed by these officers do not belong in a civilised society and, as we have said before, social media cannot be a hiding place for them, whether on a public platform or as part of a private group.

"Behaviour of this kind undermines public confidence in policing and the dismissal rulings by the panel today send out a strong message that it will not be tolerated.

"We will continue to ensure, along with police forces, that this type of behaviour is rooted out and those responsible are held to account for their actions."

Cobban was found guilty of three counts of sending grossly offensive messages on a public communications network, while Borders was convicted of five charges after a Westminster Magistrates' Court trial.

They were both sentenced in November to three months' imprisonment, but were bailed pending an appeal.