Met Police officer faces 20 ongoing misconduct cases, figures show

More than 34,000 police officers work for the Met

A serving Met Police officer is the subject of 20 ongoing misconduct cases, London's mayor has revealed.

Sadiq Khan also said 142 officers in the force were facing multiple misconduct proceedings. It is unclear if they have been suspended.

The Met said the force was being "undermined by corrupting behaviours that had gone unchallenged".

The force has been beset by scandals recently, most notably the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer.

Other scandals include the strip-searching of children and the sharing of pictures of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman after they were murdered.

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• More than 100 officers not trusted to talk to public, Met chief says

• Met officers getting away with breaking the law

In October, a report by Baroness Casey concluded hundreds of serving Met officers had been getting away with breaking the rules and even breaking the law.

The misconduct figures were released in response to a question to the mayor from Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell who told the Local Democracy Reporting Service seeing this many open misconduct cases against serving officers was "staggering".

"Londoners must be able to trust the police service that is supposed to be keeping us all safe," she added.

Sir Mark Rowley has pledged to restore trust in the force

In response, the Met said: "People rightly expect us to uphold the highest standards but, as the Commissioner has previously said, our organisation is being undermined by corrupting behaviours that have gone unchallenged and been allowed to multiply.

"We will be using data to look at patterns - of conduct, behaviour and complaints - so we can identify officers who pose a risk and intervene early."

The Met's commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who has been in office since September, has called for greater powers to sack officers.

He said he had not been able to remove some officers who should no longer be in the force.

Sir Mark told the BBC more than 500 of his officers were suspended or on restricted duties due to misconduct investigations.

They included "about 100" who were on "very restrictive duties" and were not trusted to speak to the public, he added.

According to latest figures, the force has more than 34,000 officers and 10,000 police staff.

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