One serving police officer said concerns over conduct fall on ‘deaf ears’ (Picture: ITV News)

A black serving Met Police officer has said they once considered suicide as they and other colleagues suffered discrimination.

Two serving officers described to ITV how allegations about rape and racism by its members fall on ‘deaf ears’.

In a report that aired yesterday, the officers also accused the Metropolitan Police Federation, a rank-and-file staff association, of hampering reform efforts.

One told presenter Antoine Allen that morale among police of colour is at an all-time low, as report after report captures the racism riddling the Met’s ranks.

‘I’m seeing officers go through things every week. Crying, very upset,’ they said.

‘I’ve lost friends that have left the organisation. It can’t go on. It really can’t go on. I nearly killed myself as a result of discrimination.’

The officer pointed to incidents such as Child Q, a young black girl strip-searched on school grounds by officers without an adult present despite it being protocol.

Morale has dropped among officers of colour, they said (Picture: ITV News)

Capturing the growing lack of confidence, a National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) survey found more than half of Britain’s black police officers and staff have suffered racial abuse in the past year.

‘I have heard first-hand from female officers that have been sexually assaulted or raped by other police officers shouted down and belittled,’ the officer added.

‘When they’ve complained, it’s fallen on deaf ears – and they’ve been forced to work with the same officers again.

‘It’s not uncommon.’

The officer said the Metropolitan Police Federation ‘protects officers doing wrong-doing’.

‘You’ve got instances where white officers, there are convictions for drink drive, drink drive tends to be the one that rears its head a lot,’ they said.

The officers said the Metropolitan Police Federation is protecting officers from ‘doing wrong-doing’ (Picture: ITV News)

‘And you know, before they’re dismissed, they’re allowed to resign therefore they keep their pensions.

‘There have been stories of individuals who have been drink driving and they’ve fled the scene and yet again allowed to keep their jobs.

‘There have been instances where individuals have repeatedly been involved in sexual assault, inappropriate behaviour towards females and again they’ve kept their job.

‘And it just makes you think, how is that possible?’

Asked why the force is seemingly struggling to get rid of the ‘bad apples’, the second officer said: ‘It’s the culture.

‘It’s the fact that the police stubbornly refuse to accept that institutional racism exists within the service.’

Bas Javid, Deputy Assistant Commissioner for the Met, told ITV: ‘There’s no room for racism, misogyny or any form of discrimination in the Metropolitan Police.

Reports have peeled back a culture of racism and misogyny within the Met (Picture: ITV News)

‘We’ve been working incredibly hard to root out any officers or staff who show any signs of these kinds of behaviours, it’s unacceptable and I would encourage both of these officers to come forward and reassure them that we will do everything within our power to make sure they’re taken seriously and their complaints are investigated.’

The Federation said: ‘Officers who are paying members of the Federation have a right – similar to insurance – to be represented by their Staff Association when they are accused of misconduct.

‘Similar to defence lawyers, the fact we offer support to police officers who pay into the Federation is a non-judgemental legal entitlement and part of fair and due process.

‘The Metropolitan Police Federation actively supports the interests of more than 30,000 members on a daily basis. We have a fantastically diverse workforce and the Federation represents all of our colleagues.

‘We also are part of an ongoing process to actively recruit representatives from differing backgrounds to help look after the welfare of our colleagues and support them when they need it most.’

A crisis of trust has gripped the Met, with anger swelling over the force’s handling of several high-profile cases that capture cultural issues with law enforcement.

Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, has vowed to shake up the force (Picture: PA)

Among the cases was Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive killed by London police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.

Couzens abused his authority to abduct, rape and murder Everard, whose death ignited fury over the Met’s approach to violence against women.

While an inquest that year into the ‘Grindr killer’ Stephen Port found the lives of his victims could have been saved if it weren’t for the ‘insitituional homophobia’ in the Met.

The shooting of Chris Kaba, a black musician gunned down by an officer in London last year, reopened old wounds around institutional racism in the police.

Reports of racism, misogyny, homophobia and other bigotries have continued to emerge despite repeated good faith efforts to stop the ‘bad apples’.

Officers routinely cracking jokes about ‘benders’ and ‘rape ‘hate f**king’ female officers were among the findings of a 2022 police watchdog probe.

‘We believe these incidents are not isolated,’ the report by the IOPC said, ‘or simply the behaviour of a few “bad apples”.’

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‘It can’t go on. It really can’t go on.’