Chillingly, there are even jokes from Wayne Couzens about domestic violence victims (Picture: PA)

Following the end of court proceedings relating to sexual crimes by Wayne Couzens, the ex-police officer who murdered Sarah Everard, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has published a report into a WhatsApp group that Couzens was part of, made up of former and serving Metropolitan Police officers. 

The content will shock readers, as it contains some of the most horribly racist, sexist, ableist and homophobic content I’ve ever read. 

But the terrible thing is, it doesn’t surprise me one bit – I have long been campaigning for essential reforms relating to police conduct and officers’ use of WhatsApp groups. 

This devastating report highlights the desperate need for further action, starting with the re-vetting of every serving officer. 

I urge caution when reading the next few paragraphs.

While the comments are incredibly offensive and distressing, it is vital they are reported on because people need to know the truth about what is being shared in these WhatsApp groups.  

One message compares Hounslow to a ‘Somali *h*t hole’ and continues ‘there goes p***y patrol… more like FGM <Female Genital Mutilation> patrol.’  

In a discussion seemingly about guns, one refers to an apparent saying common in the force: ‘In the Met we used to call the old .38 revolvers Wog stoppers’ 

Another racist conversation reads ‘Should have stuck with specsavers in oxford. The f*****s don’t speak English here. F*****g multicultural f*****g London’ and goes on to make reference to ‘starving kids in Africa… every time you see them they’ve got a mouth full of flies.’

They also, sickeningly, joked about raping a stranger. Talking about a woman they encountered, Wayne Couzens asked his colleague: ‘Did you f****r her to see if she was ok?’ and the officer replied: ‘I considered it. But she was a right old lump, so I just raped a bystander instead.’

There are many examples of vile misogyny. One reads: ‘Ironman is a superhero. Ironwoman is a command’ while another conversation about three domestic violence cases saw an officer comment ‘I bet they all had one thing in common…women that don’t listen.’ 

Chillingly, there are even jokes from Wayne Couzens about domestic violence victims. 

I could list endless disturbing examples from this report, but there are too many to mention and readers will now fully understand the depravity of these conversations. 

It is a truly disgusting read. 

The investigations resulted in criminal proceedings for two of the group, Joel Borders and Jonathon Cobban, who were jailed for sharing ‘grossly offensive messages.’

The four other serving or former officers also faced gross misconduct proceedings and were all barred from policing forever.

Going through the vetting process again may be an inconvenience, but it’s a small price to pay to weed out the many – and it is many – bad apples in the service

This is progress, but there are still questions we deserve answers to.

How were they allowed to become police officers in the first place when they hold such views? Why are officers known to have alarming nicknames like Wayne Couzens ‘rapist’ moniker? And why are so many warning signs missed? 

The woman flashed by Couzens before he murdered Sarah Everard should have had her complaints taken much more seriously. 

The messages from this WhatsApp group were only discovered because Couzens’ phone was searched after his arrest. 

That raises even more concerns about how many more groups like this are out there, and how many more appalling messages have never been found.

This is not the first alarm bell sounded about the content of officers’ WhatsApp.

After sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman were murdered in a Brent park, pictures of their bodies were taken by police at the scene and shared on a chat group with other officers.  

After Sarah Everard was murdered, an officer guarding the scene shared a meme about her kidnap and murder to colleagues. Incredibly, this officer was not subject to the type of disciplinary proceedings that could lead to his sacking.

In a more recent example, Katie Price is demanding an apology from the Met Police for derogatory comments about her son Harvey in a police officers’ WhatsApp group. 

This group also allegedly contained comments that were sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic and ‘applauded sexual violence against women.’ 

Sound familiar? 

There are simply too many worrying cases and allegations, and it has seriously undermined trust. 

And that’s why I am calling for every single police officer to be re-vetted.

After all, these are people dealing with some of the most vulnerable in our communities every day – we cannot leave it to chance.

There are so many incredible police officers who have nothing to hide and have done nothing wrong – I work with some of them myself. Going through the vetting process again may be an inconvenience, but it’s a small price to pay to weed out the many – and it is many – bad apples in the service, who are a danger to the public.

For the leaders of the police service, this is no doubt a mammoth task. 

But it is a job they have started – cross referencing across national databases to find officers with criminal records. The Government must support policing leadership in this endeavour, something made doubly urgent by current targets on recruitment. 

Vetting must be stringent, and tough rules applied to social media chats and posting. But this, sadly, is only the beginning.  

Every single police WhatsApp group needs to be identified and investigated. 

There have simply been too many examples of misconduct involving such groups. 

And when misconduct is found, these officers must be removed from the force, for good. Every single member of the police must be fit to serve.

We must ensure they are – and it can’t come soon enough.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]. 

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I am calling for every single police officer to be re-vetted – there are simply too many worrying cases and allegations.