Met Police officers sacked after BBC Panorama investigation

Two Metropolitan Police officers have been sacked for gross misconduct after appearing in an undercover report by BBC Panorama.

Three allegations were upheld against PC Philip Neilson, including making "highly racist and discriminatory remarks" about different ethnic groups. He was dismissed with immediate effect.

Five allegations were also upheld against PC Martin Borg, who was also dismissed with immediate effect.

They are the first two of 10 current or former officers to face hearings as part of the Met's accelerated misconduct proceedings over footage recorded during the Panorama investigation.

Mr Neilson was recorded by the BBC referring to an "invasion" of "scum" from the Middle East, and made offensive comments about people from Algeria and Somalia.

He was also observed saying a detainee who had overstayed his visa should have a "bullet through his head".

The other allegations against Mr Neilson related to "glorifying what he was describing as inappropriate use of force on a restrained detainee" and for suggesting unlawful violence against migrants who broke the law. Chair of the panel, Cdr Jason Prins, found all the allegations proven.

The hearing in south-west London on Thursday was told that he did not dispute the words he said but argued they only amounted to just misconduct.

Giving evidence, Mr Neilson said he had been a police officer for four years and denied he was a racist.

He said he believed the undercover reporter "breached his humans rights" and it was the reporter who "kept bringing up these conversations" and "egging me on".

Mr Neilson said he had eight or nine pints of Guinness while at the pub when he made some of the comments and said he was not a "drinker".

He said he did not discriminate against anyone and footage from his body worn camera would show "no matter the ethnicity I did everything with the utmost respect".

Cdr Prins ruled that Mr Neilson's comments caused "significant harm" to the reputation of Metropolitan Police and wider public confidence in the police and amounted to gross misconduct, describing the conduct of the officer as an "utter disgrace".

"He alone was responsible for the comments and it was or must have been obvious to him his comments were abhorrent," Cdr Prins added.

The Met had previously said he had "displayed extreme racial, violent and discriminatory views", as well as a lack of "respect, courtesy and professionalism".

PC Martin Borg, who worked out of Charing Cross Police station, was also dismissed on Thursday.

An undercover BBC reporter recorded Mr Borg enthusiastically describing how he saw another officer stomp on a suspect's leg in custody.

The officer was filmed laughing and saying he had offered to make a statement claiming the suspect had kicked the sergeant first. It is not clear from CCTV footage seen by the BBC whether that was the case.

James Berry KC, bringing the case for the Met, said the Panorama programme showed Mr Borg "revelled in the use of force on detainees" and made a "number of discriminatory remarks about Muslims".

Mr Borg denied he was a racist and all the allegations of gross misconduct against him, but admitted he made the comments in the programme and argued he had "been groomed over a series of months to get the undercover report".

He faced a total of eight allegations, of which five were found proven as gross misconduct by the panel.

Chair Cdr Jason Prins described Mr Borg's conduct as a "disgrace", adding: "He alone was responsible for the comments and it was or must have been obvious to him his comments were abhorrent.

"The comments caused significant harm to the reputation of the Metropolitan Police and public confidence in policing more generally."

Eight serving police officers, a former Met constable, and a police constable who moved from London to serve with Gloucestershire Police will undergo accelerated hearings, the Met previously confirmed.

Mr Neilson and Mr Borg's hearings were two of three that are due to take place on Thursday.