Dismissal rulings for six over inappropriate WhatsApp messages sent by police officers

A gross misconduct panel today (Friday 9 December) made dismissal rulings for six serving and former police officers who were members of a WhatsApp group which exchanged racist, sexist and other offensive messages.

The outcomes follow an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) into allegations of discriminatory and inappropriate messages sent by police constables (PCs) from three different forces while they were serving with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

All were accused of sending inappropriate and/or offensive messages, being part of a WhatsApp group that was being used to exchange them, and also failing to report or challenge the messages they received.

At the end of a hearing organised by the MPS, an independently chaired disciplinary panel found the cases proven against MPS PC Gary Bailey and Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) PC Matthew Forster; former MPS PCs Joel Borders, Jonathon Cobban, and William Neville; and former Norfolk Constabulary PC Daniel Comfort.

PCs Bailey and Forster were dismissed without notice and the panel ruled that the four former officers would have been dismissed had they still been serving. All of them apart from PC Forster, who is subject to different regulations, will be added to the College of Policing barred list preventing them from future employment with the police service.

They were all found to have breached police standards of professional behaviour for discreditable conduct; authority, respect and courtesy; challenging and reporting improper conduct; and equality and diversity. 

During our investigation we analysed more than 6,000 messages which included racist and homophobic comments, and derogatory remarks aimed at domestic abuse victims, people with disabilities, and women.

Examples included comments about starving African children eating flies; references to “filthy Feltham” in the context of the area’s diversity, “grooming” of young foreign girls by buying them prawn balls, and the tasering of children and animals; use of offensive terms such as “mong” and “pikey”, and the comment “they only have to say yes once” in a clear reference to rape and/or sexual assault. A remark about ‘dodgy’ showers at Auschwitz prompted the response “very popular tho. I heard people were queuing up to go in them.”

IOPC Regional Director Sal Naseem said: “The views expressed by these officers do not belong in a civilised society and as we have said before, social media cannot be a hiding place for them whether on a public platform or as part of a private group.

“Behaviour of this kind undermines public confidence in policing and the dismissal rulings by the panel today send out a strong message that it will not be tolerated.

“We will continue to ensure, along with police forces, that this type of behaviour is rooted out and those responsible are held to account for their actions.”

The IOPC’s investigation began following an initial conduct referral from the MPS in April last year (2021). Additional referrals were made by Norfolk Constabulary and CNC in July and August 2021.

The ‘Bottles and Stoppers’ chat group, as it was called, dated back to February 2019. All the officers involved had previously worked for CNC but had transferred to the MPS when the messages were sent.

On conclusion of the IOPC’s investigation last December, we found a case to answer for gross misconduct for all six officers. A file of evidence was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service which led to former PCs Borders and Cobban being convicted of sending grossly offensive messages under the Communications Act (2003). They were given 12-week custodial sentences last month (November) but bailed pending an appeal.

The IOPC is now preparing to publish its investigation report.