Ex-Met officer guilty of sending racist message

Michael Chadwell was found guilty of sending a racist WhatsApp message

A former Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of sending an offensive racist message following a BBC Newsnight investigation.

Michael Chadwell, 62, of Liss, Hampshire, was in a WhatsApp group with other former officers where numerous racist messages were shared.

The men served in various parts of the Met Police but all spent time in the Diplomatic Protection Group.

Messages shared in the group included references to the Duchess of Sussex.

At City of London Magistrates' Court on Monday, Chadwell was found guilty of one count of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.

The court heard that he shared an image in the WhatsApp group in September 2022 that the prosecution described as "grossly offensive".

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The image showed parrots of different colours and children of different ethnicities.

It read: "Why do we cherish the variety of colour in every species except our own?"

And underneath, said: "Because I've never had a bike stolen out of my front yard by a parrot."

Chadwell then sent the message "oops, not too woke", the court heard.

On Monday, he told the court he thought the image was a "silly" joke and was "a bit like Monty Python".

He added he thought "woke" meant "politically correct" but did not believe the message was racist or offensive.

On finding Chadwell guilty, deputy magistrate Tanweer Ikram told the court: "He thought it was funny, but it was grossly offensive, and he was aware of it at the time."

The former officer retired from the Met in November 2015.

Last year Newsnight was passed dozens of messages shared within the chat, called Old Boys Beer Meet, by a member of the group.

The communications were sent between September 2020 and 2022 and included messages that referenced the Prince and Princess of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, former Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

Five other officers previously pleaded guilty to sending racist messages in the group.

All six officers retired between 2001 and 2015 and were all charged under the Communications Act 2003.

They are on unconditional bail and are due to be sentenced on 8 December at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

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