Labour MP Dawn Butler calls for a "system change" after being stopped by police

Labour MP Dawn Butler has spoken out about the stop and search process

Labour MP Dawn Butler says there needs to be a "system change" after getting stopped by the police whilst driving.

She was travelling with a friend in East London over the weekend and their car was stopped by the police.

The officers initially told the pair the vehicle was registered in North Yorkshire and they took the keys while checking the registration to find out who the car belonged to.

It was later found that one of the officers had incorrectly entered the car's registration number and they admitted the stop was a mistake.

What is racial profiling?

Ms Butler and her friend are both black and she says they were racially profiled by the police officers who stopped them.

Racial profiling is when a person is suspected of carrying out a crime or offence because of their race. Certain assumptions are made about them purely based on the colour of their skin.

"I don't know what raised their suspicion. All I know is I'm black, my friend was black and he has a fairly decent car," she said.

"If you see black people in a car and you automatically assume that they are criminals there is a problem there."

In a statement the Met said "one of the occupants" had been contacted by a senior officer and they had discussed "subsequent interaction as well as feedback regarding the stop".

What is stop and search?

The police in England and Wales have the power to carry out a stop and search if they have reasonable grounds for doing so

In England and Wales, the police have the power to stop and search an individual or a vehicle if they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect a person may be carrying illegal substances, a weapon or stolen property.

Officers aren't allowed to stop someone because of their ethnic background, gender or if they have a previous criminal record.

If the police do want to carry out a stop and search, they must consider whether:

• the situation calls for it - for example, if there's been a crime in the local area

• a person's behaviour makes them suspicious

However, the grounds on which police officers can carry out a stop and search has been called into question. It's because black, Asian and minority ethnic people are more likely to get stopped and searched compared to white people.

The BBC took a look at recent data which revealed that, on average, one in 10 black people in London were stopped and searched by the Metropolitan Police last year. That's about four times the rate of white people.

In response to this incident, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the police should treat people with "fairness and equality".

He said: "The police have made a statement saying that they made a mistake. They have spoken to the occupants of the car but it's obviously very, very important that the Met continue to do everything that they can to show that they are serving every part of our country".