Nabiha Ahmed
Live reporter

Today, we saw Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley both criticise and defend.

He made clear that the behaviour of Met officers - exposed in a BBC Panorama investigation last night - was "completely reprehensible".

Rowley has suspended officers in light of the evidence, and says officers are on "a likely path to dismissal".

That said, he defended his position as Met chief and insisted the force were "here to protect".

Londoners may not be so sure, according to the city's mayor Sadiq Khan. Today, he raised concerns that the city's people will be reluctant to report a crime.

But Khan says the commissioner has his “full confidence,” with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer saying Rowley’s response needs to be “very robust.”

We're ending our live coverage now. You can find all the key findings from Panorama's secret filming of Met Police officers here.

You can also watch the full programme on the BBC iPlayer and it will be repeated at 21:00 BST tonight.

Zahra Fatima
Live reporter

We've been hearing from charities tackling Islamophobia - or anti-Muslim sentiment - in the UK about their reaction to the investigation.

Speaking to the BBC, the Islamophobia Response Unit (IRU) describes the Panorama footage as "deeply disturbing,” saying it reveals how racism, misogyny, and Islamophobia "still festers in institutions meant to protect us.”

Chief executive Majid Iqbal continues: "Such behaviour betrays the public trust and demands far more than apologies."

The charity is calling for a full, transparent, and independent investigation into the culture of the Metropolitan Police force.

Meanwhile Tell Mama, a national project which records and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the UK, says that "whilst the force took steps to suspend various officers, more is clearly needed at a structural level.”

There’s been plenty of reaction following the BBC’s Panorama investigation that exposed evidence of Metropolitan Police officers displaying misogynistic and racist behaviour.

Here a little bit of the reaction we've heard today:

From the Met Police chief:

• Sir Mark Rowley has described the footage from the documentary as "completely reprehensible" in a BBC interview
• Rowley affirmed that he is proud of what his team have done to tackle "these cancers within the organisation"
• He also has made it clear that he has no intention of resigning

From the prime minster:

• Keir Starmer has called the BBC's findings "shocking" and says Rowley needs to be "very robust in his response"

From the mayor of London:

• Sadiq Khan is 'disgusted and appalled' by the footage, and says that "Londoners have been let down"

From the Conservatives:

• The Conservatives at City Hall have called the footage "deeply concerning" and are calling for more "immediate action"

Another former Met Police chief superintendent tells BBC Radio London “we have seen decisive action” after the Panorama film was aired last night.

Dal Babu says: “In the past, there’s been a reluctance to take action. People have hidden behind processes and procedures.

“The whole of policing now - the leadership - has condemned what’s happened,” Babu continues. “We now need to ensure action is taken, we don’t want people to slip away, resigning or retiring without facing consequences.”

Babu adds: “This is not just about people saying the most awful, disgusting comments but it’s about how those attitudes then have an impact on the decision-making.

Earlier, we heard from Parm Sandhu, who says she is “not surprised at all” by the findings of the BBC investigation into her former workplace.

Sandhu is the first - and to date only - Asian female chief superintendent in the history of the Metropolitan Police.

“The behaviours are not new – they've been exposed before, buried before and tolerated before,” she says in an interview with Radio 4’s Today programme earlier.

“What we saw last night was violent bullies in uniform...it's like a pack of animals acting together."

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Nicole Jacobs, says the BBC’s Panorama investigation exposes "blatant misogyny and dismissive attitudes" towards vulnerable people, which she says is "utterly horrific".

“The reoccurring failure of policing to take violence against women and girls seriously within its own ranks only allows these views to thrive. Enough is enough," she says.

Dame Jacobs urges for such perpetrators to be “rooted out and dealt with swiftly,” saying this needs to happen if victims are “to ever feel confidence” in the police.

Adrian Polglase and Joseph Lee
BBC Panorama

Warning: This post contains distressing content

As a reminder, among the officers filmed by our undercover reporter were:

• Sgt Joe McIlvenny, an officer with nearly 20 years' service in the Met who was dismissive about a pregnant woman's allegations of rape and domestic violence, after a colleague raised concerns about the decision to release the accused man on bail. He replied: "That's what she says.”
• PC Martin Borg, who enthusiastically described how he saw another officer, Sgt Steve Stamp, stomp on a suspect's leg. PC Borg laughed when he described how he had offered to make a statement saying the suspect had tried to kick the sergeant first. It was unclear from CCTV footage if the claim was true
• PC Phil Neilson, who told our reporter in the pub that a detainee who had overstayed his visa should have "a bullet through his head"

Image source, Getty Images

Green party leader Zack Polanski says the Met commissioner Mark Rowley should "undoubtedly" resign, following the revelations in last night's Panorama programme.

Polanski tells BBC London that Rowley is "not the man who's able to meet this moment".

In particular, he highlights how the commissioner has not accepted that racism and misogyny in the Met is institutional as outlined in the Casey Review, commissioned following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.

"Everyone in a position of responsibility should be absolutely ashamed of themselves, particularly the Met commissioner, a man who refused to accept the idea there was institutional racism and misogyny," Polanski says.

He calls for "a complete reform" of how the Met Police is governed, and urged London Mayor Sadiq Khan to "get a hold of" the need to do so.

Khan describes the Metropolitan Police Service as an "institutionally racist", "institutionally sexist" and "institutionally homophobic" organisation. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has not himself used these terms to describe the force.

But Khan says Rowley "has my full confidence" and insists he is the "right person to undertake the change that we need".

He adds that progress has been made since his appointment, including the dismissal of 1,500 officers and rotation of senior officers at custody suites.

But the mayor says he has questioned Rowley on why it took journalists to expose this behaviour at Charing Cross, adding that London feels "let down" irrespective of the commissioner's efforts.

Image source, UK pool

We've just been hearing from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who says he feels "sickened", "disgusted", "angry" and "appalled" after watching last night's BBC Panorama into misconduct at the Met Police.

Khan says the documentary exposes racism, anti-Muslim hatred, misogyny and criminal behaviour by officers.

"London has been let down and I apologise to Londoners...it's simply not good enough," Khan says.

He says what makes things worse is that this conduct was exposed by a BBC journalist rather than by the Met itself.

"It leads me to believe that the culture hasn't changed anywhere near like it needs to," he says.

Khan raises concerns that now ordinary Londoners - including women and those from ethnic minorities - will be reluctant to report a crime.

The Conservatives at City Hall have urged that more must be done "immediately" to remove what they describe as "bad apples" in the Metropolitan Police.

They describe the conduct of officers - as exposed in a Panaroma investigation - as "deeply concerning" which "shakes our faith in the Met Police".

"These bad apples ruin the hard work that good officers do day in, day out to keep us safe and to build the trust of Londoners in the Met Police," a spokesperson says.

The spokesperson adds that they welcome the commissioner's suspension of accused officers, hoping it can help the police "operate without fear or favour".

Matt Jukes, deputy commissioner at the Met Police, has just been speaking to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.

He tells the programme that the behaviour exposed in the BBC's Panorama film is "disgraceful" and "reprehensible", before adding that the challenge facing the force to change its culture is "systemic".

"If we've exited 1500 people from the organisation over the last three years, that's not a few rotten apples, that's a systemic challenge, a structural challenge, and it's one we're going to continue to tackle at scale," he tells the BBC.

He says that the organisation knows that a culture of "victim-blaming attitudes" has been a "persistent issue" and a barrier for women to report their experiences.

He says that the Met is taking a "more robust approach to vetting" and if the behaviour is being driven underground, "we're going underground after them".

5Live has been speaking to Rob, a former Met sergeant, about the general culture at the force.

He claims that while not all Met officers are "saints", the large majority are aiming to do their job properly in an atmosphere "where officers get on".

"I've worked with so many people, I can count many people still amongst them who are my friends. These are not people who do the things you saw last night on TV," Rob says to Nicky Campbell.

Rob says his last team included officers of "different racial backgrounds, different sexualities...different sexes".

"I would certainly call out anything that I found offensive," says Rob.

A serving police officer has told Nicky Campbell's phone-in that he feels "ashamed" by the findings uncovered in last night's BBC Panorama investigation.

Jason, not his real name, admits: "I did feel ashamed this morning... And I considered ending my career to be honest because I don't need to do this."

It's not clear what force Jason belongs to, but he tells the BBC he has personally never seen anyone act "in an overtly sexist or racist manner" in his more than 10 years, before adding that he would like to think he would challenge that behaviour if he encountered it.

But the police officer says that some might be concerned about speaking up about superiors' behaviour because officers need "complete trust with colleagues" as they go about their often-dangerous work.

“That trust can be the difference between life and death," he explains, adding: "People don't want to feel like they've broken that trust."

"It's not about not letting the side down, it's about keeping people safe," he continues. "That includes yourself, your colleagues and the public."

We've been hearing from Zoe Billingham, a former independent inspector of police forces in England and Wales, who describes the Met's culture issues as "breathtaking".

Speaking to Nicky Campbell on 5 Live she says: "What we need to talk about is whether the Met has finished its job - clearly it hasn't. It's not one bad apple, is it?"

Having watched Sir Mark Rowley's BBC Radio London interview, she adds: "The scale and depth of the culture issues within the Met are breathtaking and clearly he hasn't got into all of the corners of the Metropolitan Police."

A reminder, Rowley in his BBC interview insisted that progress had been made but recognised that more work was needed to remove "these cancers in our organisation".

Speaking to BBC Radio London about the findings of last night's Panorama documentary, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the footage was "reprehensible" but insisted the force was improving.

Here's a quick upshot of what he said:

• Rowley described the footage filmed by an undercover BBC reporter as "horrific" and said he wanted the officers involved - who've been suspended - "gone as quickly as possible"
• He said he understood Londoners would feel "upset and angry" about the "toxic views" expressed by the officers - but he also said his force has done an "extraordinary amount" to root out such officers since the Casey Review (ordered after the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by serving police officer Wayne Couzens)
• Pressed on whether he should have accepted the review's finding that the Met was institutionally racist and misogynistic, Rowley insisted the Met is "part way through the biggest counter-corruption initiative policing has ever seen in this country". He said nearly 1,500 men and women had been removed from the Met - 557 of them last year alone
• Rowley said the majority of his officers are "good people" who care deeply about policing London - but he accepted there's "far too big of a minority who don't"
• He also suggested the Panorama documentary showed there had been progress made, because officers who hold such views are "going underground", but he said the Met will continue to "go after them and remove them"
• On whether he intended to resign, Rowley said no - adding that he's dedicated to removing "these cancers in our organisation". Anyone who circulates rumours of him resigning within the Met, he told the BBC, are "the misogynists and racists, frankly, who want me out"
• He finished by describing Panorama's footage as "vile to watch", calling the officers involved "ghastly, ghastly individuals"

On 5 Live, Nicky Campbell is taking your calls on the Met Police and the findings of the Panorama investigation - you can watch live at the top of the page.

The final question asked is if Rowley thinks Londoners, and victims of crime, feel safe in the hands of the Met?

"Absolutely," Rowley responds. "The vast majority of our people care deeply."

He says the Met continues to provide "fantastic support" to victims day-to-day, and adds that his teams have more than doubled the numbers of offences against women and girls that are being solved.

"Londoners can feel safe with our officers," he says.

Rowley finishes by stressing that the Met is just part way through its programme of cracking down on bad actors within the organisation.

"Londoners have my word, we won't stop until it's finished," he adds.

With that, Rowley's interview finishes. We'll bring you a summary of the key lines shortly - stay with us.

Rowley is asked if he has considered resigning. He swiftly replies that he is not resigning.

He is working with his team to remove "these cancers within the organisation".

Those who circulate rumours of him resigning within the Met, he says, are "the misogynists and racists frankly who want me out".

The BBC investigation demonstrates "relentlessness...by the fact they [badly-behaved officers] are going underground".

"So you accept it's going underground?" De Simone pushes.

Rowley dubs this an "inevitable consequence" of bearing down on the problem.

"It's vile to watch...they're ghastly, ghastly individuals...It's completely unacceptable."

The Met chief is asked if he can put a number on how many officers are being investigated by the force.

But the commissioner calls this a "crazy question". If the force knew exactly how many "corrupt individuals" there were in its ranks, he says, "we'd be able to get rid of them tomorrow".

Pressed further on whether this means the issue is "endemic", Rowley says the majority of his officers are "good people" who care deeply about policing London - but, he adds, there's "far too big of a minority who don't.

When the BBC's Daniel De Simone cuts in to suggest "things aren't changing" in the force, Rowley himself hits back to say "that's not accurate, is it?"

Rowley says the Panorama documentary actually shows things have changed - because officers are shown to be aware of the fact they need to be careful who they express their opinions around.