Des O'Connor's daughter seeks review after officer calls her 'amazingly hot' and keeps job

6 February 2022, 20:24 | Updated: 6 February 2022, 23:50

One of the daughters of late comedian Des O'Connor has taken legal action against the Met, after a detective who called her "amazingly hot" was allowed to keep his job.

Kristina O'Connor, now 33, was sent numerous inappropriate messages by DCI James Mason after he responded to her report of an attempted robbery in October 2011.

He asked her out for dinner while taking her statement for the incident, in which she had been assaulted by a group of men trying to steal her phone.

DCI Mason, who went on to work alongside Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick, then sent Ms O'Connor a series of personal emails including one telling her she was "amazingly hot".

Following her complaint about DCI Mason, who was at the time of the incident a detective sergeant, a panel at a police misconduct hearing last year found him guilty of gross misconduct.

The Met has confirmed he remains a serving officer.

Ms O'Connor said: "I no longer trust the police. I feel that I am as likely to be abused by a police officer as I am by anyone else and perhaps even more likely, as I've seen that police officers can harm people with impunity.

"I am fearful of having to call or depend upon the police."

She added: "I feel appalled that the officer in question is still serving... I question what it takes for an officer to be dismissed. It makes a mockery of the misconduct process that he continues to serve."

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Lawyers for Ms O'Connor are arguing that the force "failed to properly investigate" the complaint as a case of gender discrimination and so are seeking a judicial review of how the investigation was handled.

Nancy Collins, a solicitor at Hodge Jones and Allen, said the case pointed to "more than just a rotten apple" within the police force.

She said: "[Ms O'Connor] was subjected to this terrible misogynistic culture which meant that she suffered this abuse by the officer investigating her crime.

"When she then decided to step forward and complain about this, the Met, I think because the culture of misogyny is so deep-rooted, failed to recognise that her complaint had raised issues of sex discrimination and, we say, didn't adequately investigate it."

Speaking about the misconduct hearing, Ms Collins went on to say: "[Ms O'Connor] felt very excluded from the process. She wasn't kept informed. In fact the panel went home having reached a conclusion. Nobody told Kristina it had gone home, so she was waiting in the building.

"So that experience for her was pretty traumatic."

Ms O'Connor said: "My experience of the misconduct hearing was terrible. There was a complete lack of care and support for me as a victim."

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A Met spokesperson said: "We recognise there is a need for real change in the Met. We are committed to creating an environment that is intolerant to those who do not uphold the high values and standards expected of us."

They added: "Any victim of crime should have the confidence and trust to come to police to receive the support and professionalism they rightfully expect.

"Where this does not happen, we want to know about it so any learning and, if appropriate, disciplinary action can be taken."

The force also confirmed that it was aware of the judicial review but said it was not prepared to discuss the case further.

The Independent Office for Police Misconduct (IOPC), which is listed as an interested party in the case, said Ms O'Connor had not appealed when it decided the case should be investigated as gross misconduct.

The watchdog said it made this call "based on the information provided" to it by officers who conducted the initial inquiries into the complaint.

A spokesman for the IOPC said: "The IOPC agrees there is serious public concern about abuse of position by police officers for the purposes of sexual gain, which should be taken into account when assessing the degree to which confidence in policing may have been undermined and the appropriate sanction."