Speaking to BBC Radio London about the findings of last night's Panorama documentary, Met Commissioner 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 feeling "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 was rooting out more bad actors than any other police force
• 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 in the force, as officers were seen to be aware that they need to be careful who they expressed their views around
• 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.

Rowley is next asked: can you reassure people that the behaviour highlighted in Charing Cross is not happening at other stations?

"I'm not in a position to say the Met is perfect today," Rowley replies.

But, he says the force is in a better position than it was three years ago, "and in a year's time we'll be better again".

Rowley, though, refuses to put a timeline on how long it will take to remove all of the "cancer" from the organisation.

"It's embarrassing for you that it's taken the BBC to uncover this," says Daniel De Simone.

He asks Rowley: Will you apologise?

"I've said sorry several times in my statement," Rowley asserts.

He's pushed further on whether he will take personal responsibility.

To which the commissioner, noting he is the "accountable person", says: "Everything the Met does is my personal responsibility."

Rowley reiterates that the Met are tackling the issues "relentlessly", and will continue to bear down on it.

He repeats that the brave men and women within the Met are reporting behaviour of badly-behaved officers.

Rowley is asked how many more times are these "groundhog day moments" going to happen for the Met? How many times is it going to have to deal with these scandals?

In response, the Met commissioner says "this case has profile because it's ghastly and because the BBC has footage".

But, he goes on, the Met is "rooting out" hundreds of internal cases - and "that's because we are stepping through" the issue.

He says changing an organisation takes time and that even if more stories like these become public, it shows that the Met is making those changes and rooting out these officers.

We're now hearing a clip from Mina Smallman, the mother of two murdered sisters, who told BBC Newsnight that she was not shocked by the findings in the BBC Panorama investigation.

Aaron Paul asks: "What do you have to say to Londoners who have even less trust in the Met today?"

The vast majority of officers are out working desperately hard to protect the city's residents, Rowley replies.

He says the Met is making progress, but also has more to do.

Rowley admits there are other cases where the Met has found networks and "cliques" of officers "behaving in awful ways", but he says his teams will keep working to root this out "until it's gone".

What the public are seeing, as they hear news of dismissals, is the relentlessness of me and my leadership team, Rowley reiterates.

Women have had these concerns for "decades", Aaron Paul continues, and asks if Rowley has anything to say to them.

Rowley acknowledges that women are likely to be questioning whether they can trust the police, and that they are going to be "upset".

That said, Rowley notes there is "big progress" being made on the number of women reporting sexual offences.

He claims that the Met has more than doubled the proportion of people going to court in sexual assault cases.

Officers are doing an "extraordinary job" supporting victims, claims Rowley.

However, Rowley says he "completely understands" if the Panorama investigation "shakes your confidence" as a woman thinking about reporting a crime.

Aaron Paul now asks how, as a British Asian man, he should feel about the Metropolitan Police in light of the Panorama investigation.

Rowley, saying he's "nervous about suggesting how anyone should feel", goes on to say he's sure Paul and others feel "upset and angry" - particularly in a world "where we're seeing increased anti-Muslim hatred".

Seeing even one police officer express the views we saw last night, he goes on, will likely make a lot of people feel uncomfortable - but Rowley insists the police are "here to protect you".

But, again, he repeats that he can't speak for how people are feeling.

Rowley is pressed further by our correspondent Daniel De Simone, after Rowley didn't accept that the Met was institutionally racist and misogynistic following the Casey Review.

Were you wrong on this, De Simone asks.

Rowley accepts that there are a whole range of factors that show systemic issues need to be rooted out.

But, he says the fact that the Met has rooted out more bad actors than any other police force before, is indicative of the action being taken under his leadership.

De Simone asks how the Met can improve if it refuses to accept its institutional issues.

Rowley reiterates that the force is removing record numbers of people, and says top counterterrorism and organised crime officers are using their covert tactics to assist with this.

The next question to Rowley comes from BBC investigations correspondent Daniel De Simone.

He highlights that the BBC's evidence shows that the Met has failed since Baroness Louise Casey's report, which was commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard's murder by serving officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.

Rowley defends the "extraordinary amount" the Met has done since. He says they have removed nearly 1,500 men and women from the organisation.

He attributes this to "the brave men and women" who report colleagues conducting themselves inappropriately.

He says it will be a "relentless task", but is committed to giving Londoners the policing they deserve.

Rowley also praises the BBC for bringing the issue to light.

Speaking to Londoners, he says: "I completely get it. You're going to be upset and angry that this group of people have such toxic views."

He says he will be putting even more support around the Met's whistleblowers.

BBC London's Aaron Paul begins the interview by asking Sir Mark Rowley how shocked he was when seeing the Panorama programme - "ashamed, embarrassed?"

Rowley says it was "horrific" and that anybody watching would be upset.

"It's completely reprehensible," he goes on, saying that "as soon as" they learnt what had been filmed they suspended 10 people.

He says they're now working with the necessary officials to get those officers "off the payroll" - adding: "I want them gone as quickly as possible."

Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley is speaking to BBC London after a Panorama investigation found misogyny and racism inside the force.

We'll be bringing you all the key lines here, and you can follow along by clicking Watch live at the top of this page.

We've just heard Keir Starmer's first reaction to the BBC's footage of Met Police officers at Charing Cross police station.

The prime minister, who's in Denmark, says he's yet to see the footage for himself but - from what's been described to him - "it is shocking".

Starmer adds: "I'm glad the commissioner [Mark Rowley] is responding, he needs to be very robust in his response."

Image source, PA Media

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says he is "disgusted and appalled" by footage of some Metropolitan Police officers at Charing Cross police station, after it was exposed in a BBC Panorama documentary.

Khan says: 'It was sickening to watch police officers - those who are tasked with keeping our communities safe - display such blatant racism, misogyny, anti-Muslim hatred and excessive use of force."

He says there must be "no hiding place" for Met officers who "abuse their position of trust".

He has confirmed that he has met the commissioner to discuss these "horrifying events", assuring Londoners that he will "continue to hold the Met to account".

Paula Dodds, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents all Met officers, says the organisation "deplores any discriminatory behaviour in the strongest possible terms" and that "such behaviour has no place in policing or society".

"If officers are proven to be guilty of criminal offences or serious gross misconduct, then we do not want these individuals in the job," she adds.

She adds that "all police officers - like all people - have the right to representation and due process, and not trial by media or documentary".

Ahead of Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley's appearance on BBC London, a letter he's written to the home secretary and mayor of London has just been published on the Met's X account.

In it, Rowley condemns the "appalling, potentially criminal, behaviour" exhibited by some Met officers in last night's BBC Panorama programme - and he adds:

"It's my expectation that for those involved, where there is controvertible evidence of racism, misogyny, anti-Muslim sentiment or bragging about exercise of force, they will be put on a fast-tracking hearing within weeks and on a path to likely dismissal."

Rowley also explains the "immediate steps" taken by the Met after it was alerted to the BBC's findings "in the form of a 13-page letter".

This includes, he says, the suspension of "nine officers and one staff member" within "48 hours" of the letter being received.

You can read the letter in full below:

Image source, X/MetPoliceUK

Emma Vardy
BBC Panorama

For responsible investigative journalists, the decision to undertake covert filming like this is never an easy one.

Going undercover involves deception and intrusion as tools of public interest journalism, and to justify this there needs to be sufficient evidence of wrongdoing.

Whistleblowers told BBC Panorama that efforts to repair the Met Police force's culture had not been as successful as its leadership had publicly claimed - and that the Met still struggled with deep-rooted misogyny and racist attitudes within its ranks.

The whistleblowers specifically highlighted Charing Cross police station as a source of concern.

The post that undercover reporter Rory Bibb secured as a detention officer in Charing Cross custody suite would allow him to observe the culture within the station up close, without taking on the duties of a fully fledged police officer.

Working with Panorama, Rory was backed by a very experienced BBC team which had carried out many other undercover investigations.