Met officer sacked over racist and sexist messages

Charles Ehikioya said after his dismissal that he "categorically" denies the allegations

The head of the Met's Black Police Association (MBPA) has been dismissed for gross misconduct over a group chat with a former officer in which racist, sexist and inappropriate messages were sent and received.

Charles Ehikioya, who was an inspector, was in the WhatsApp chat with former officer Carlo Francisco where the offensive messages were shared.

A panel hearing evidence this week found his conduct amounted to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Ehikioya said he "categorically" denied the allegations and was "dismayed" by the decision. He had argued the claims against him were fabricated due to his race or MBPA position. He intends to appeal.

Led by Cdr Jason Prins, the panel found Mr Ehikioya breached standards in respect of equality and diversity, discreditable conduct and challenging and reporting improper conduct.

Cdr Prins said the panel had decided the "appropriate and proportionate sanction" was dismissal without notice.

In more than 7,000 messages between 2017 and 2020, the officer was said to have sent and received jokes, pictures and videos, it was heard previously.

He allegedly sent an image of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, with the comment "message from the other side, tell the Muslims there's no 72 virgins left".

There was also a series of racist messages about Chinese people, the hearing was told.

Jokes about sex with a girl with Down's syndrome, and mockery of the late Duke of Edinburgh's car crash, were also in the chatlog, as was a video in which there was a child with a naked bottom, the panel heard.

Addressing the media following his dismissal, Mr Ehikioya said: "I believe this outcome was manipulated to ensure a finding against me and is part of a deliberate campaign to smear my reputation.

"The process from the very beginning has been flawed and it is clear to me that this decision is an attempt to silence my voice in the fight against the endemic racism within the [Metropolitan Police Service]."

He said he was subjected to an "unfair investigation" that had "appeared to seek evidence against me regardless of the truth".

Mr Ehikioya added: "This misconduct case is just the latest in a long history of black officers being disproportionately."

He accused the force of treating him differently to a white officer who faced misconduct allegations.

The panel found the messages sent or received by Insp Ehikioya "deeply damage public confidence in the police service"

Andy George, the president of the National Black Police Association (NBPA), told BBC News it had been a "difficult day" for Mr Ehikioya and that the now former inspector intends to appeal the decision.

The NBPA supported Mr Ehikioya from a "from a fairness and integrity point of view" and not on a judgement of his guilt or innocence, Mr George said.

He criticised "irregularities" in the disciplinary process and the time taken to reach an outcome, noting the allegations stem from 2020 and others involved had their cases dealt with two years ago.

Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, said there were "irregularities" in the disciplinary process

A Met Police spokesperson said the force is "confident that this was not a case where disproportionality was a factor", adding the panel found no evidence of this.

"However, we know that its presence in the misconduct system more broadly remains a real concern for officers and staff, particularly those from black or other minority ethnic heritage backgrounds," they said.

The spokesperson added the misconduct system was undergoing reforms to address "legitimate concerns".

On 1 April 2019, Insp Ehikioya allegedly warned Mr Francisco to "stop sending or receiving these silly porns", saying he could get into trouble.

The hearing was told that Mr Francisco replied: "I personally trust everyone I share something with... but sorry Charles I have to stop sharing with you now."

This was followed by two smiley faces and a later post saying "April fool ma brother ohh".

'Damage public confidence'

Cdr Prins said the panel "found that Inspector Ehikioya has engaged in racist, sexist, misogynistic and otherwise inappropriate behaviour".

He added: "The panel finds to a large extent that the messages speak for themselves."

He also said they found his defence of the allegations to be "fanciful" and "far-fetched".

Cdr Prins said: "The panel found that the messages sent by Insp Ehikioya or received by him, which he failed to challenge or report, deeply damage public confidence in the police service."

Mr Francisco was in a separate group chat in which Insp Ehikioya was the subject of racism from colleagues, including references to chains, wicker baskets and cotton-picking, the hearing was told earlier this week.

Nicholas Yeo, representing Insp Ehikioya, said in his closing argument that the terms were "intrinsically linked" to slavery in the US in the 1800s.

He went on: "PC Francisco may not have been motivated in a way, in terms of a strict motivation, but it is quite clear that he was part of a vile, racist group that wanted to do the officer (Insp Ehikioya) great harm for no reason other than his race."

In 2023, Mr Francisco was separately found to have committed gross misconduct over the messages shared in that group, along with seven others.

He was dismissed in July 2022 for an unrelated matter involving discreditable conduct, the Met said.

With additional reporting from PA Media.