The young officers trapped by the BBC are soft targets; police racism starts at the top

An assistant chief constable confessed to feeling "sick" when he saw the BBC's programme on racism in the police. I recommend only a dose of Alka Seltzer as a cure for this emotional humbug. Before the programme went out, the BBC was under attack for "creating" a story. In the twinkling of an eye, all the big guns, including the Home Secretary, switched their attack to the hapless young officers highlighted in Mark Daly's report. They are a soft target, easy to pick off. They will be pursued relentlessly, probably to the extent of criminal charges.

But a statement from one young officer is conveniently being ignored. He had worked in London and he boasted that the Metropolitan Police is the leader of the pack in this racist onslaught on blacks and Asians. The young officer spoke the truth. I have reported in this column how the Met has degenerated into a centre of racism.

Once upon a time, just after the Macpherson report, there existed an assistant commissioner in the Met called Dennis O'Connor. He was responsible for the south London area and had gathered about him a group of young officers who would meet the requirements of the Macpherson report. They were educated men who set out to sensitise officers beneath them to the injustices heaped upon young blacks, particularly through stop and search. They won huge successes in spite of opposition inside and outside the Met.

The Police Federation, the old school at Scotland Yard, the Daily Mail and the right wing of the Conservative Party all brought their weight to bear. They argued that Macpherson's recommendations, which required police officers to stick to the law when dealing with black suspects, were encouraging black crime. The movement for progress and change was undermined, and then defeated. The forward-thinking officers were transferred out of south London. It was business as usual.

The law-and-order brigade called for, and won, a huge increase in police numbers. Quality was sacrificed to quantity. Recruits were culled from every racist backwater in the land. A huge number were racist thugs who were previously members of the army. Police forces are now infected by such people.

If the reactionary tendency is to be reversed, heads must roll, and I mean those of high-ranking officers who colluded in undermining attempts to follow the Macpherson report.

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