Six former British police officers have been criminally charged with sending offensive messages in a private WhatsApp group chat between 2018 and 2022, despite all having long been in retirement.
The policemen – all of whom have been charged on multiple counts of sending “grossly offensive racist messages” – allegedly made dozens of “inappropriate communications” and jokes about the British government’s Rwanda asylum policy, floods in Pakistan, and Harry and Meghan Markle, among other things. The BBC, which launched the investigation into the private group chat, has refused to publicly share the messages as they may be considered offensive.
All the officers retired from service between 2001 and 2015 and served for what is now known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. They will appear before the Westminster Magistrates’ Court in September this year.
“As soon as we were made aware of these allegations we acted to launch an investigation. I am pleased that following the determined work of officers we have been able to secure these charges,” stated Commander James Harman, leader of the London Metropolitan Police’s Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command.
It is unclear how the private messages were obtained.
Meanwhile, the collapse in prosecution rates for serious criminal offenses has “emboldened” criminals in London. Only one-in-six criminal offenses involving a knife, including those involving murders, rapes, and grievous bodily harm, resulted in a prosecution as of last year, with as few as one percent of bike thefts resulting in a charge or caution.
