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Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, believes his force’s corruption crisis is so deep it may take a decade or more to detect and remove pockets of bigots operating around Britain’s biggest force, the Guardian understands.
The Met has started an urgent review into whether officers recorded in a BBC Panorama documentary bragging about using excessive force and showing bigotry, had corrupted cases they worked on.
Amid the fallout from the undercover investigation into Charing Cross broadcast on Wednesday, Rowley tried to demonstrate he understood the seriousness of the crisis and was attempting to stem any blow to public confidence. The prime minister described the footage as “shocking”.
Rowley has summoned Met leaders, from chief inspector level upwards, to an emergency crisis meeting on Friday, where he will tell them to boost standards, root out wrongdoing or quit the force.
The programme broadcast footage from a seven-month undercover investigation. Met officers were recorded calling for immigrants to be shot, being dismissive about a rape complaint and making anti-Muslim and misogynist comments.
Rowley and other Met leaders are concerned other parts of the force have similar officers yet to be detected, with colleagues unwilling or scared to report them.
The commissioner used media interviews on Thursday to deny he needed to resign. He denied the Met was institutionally racist or misogynistic.
A source with knowledge of the Met leadership’s thinking said the force assessed it might take well into the next decade to detect and root out toxic officers. This comes despite 1,500 officers being removed in the last three years under Rowley.
The source said: “The last few years have been about getting rid of the obviously bad ones, some of whom are just criminal. There will be other stations where this is going on. It could take a decade or more to detect and get rid of these people.”
They said that while Rowley had embarked on the biggest ever corruption clearout in British policing history, “obviously there is a hell of a lot of road left to travel”.
Captured in footage was an officer appearing to dismiss a complaint by a woman alleging rape and that a man had stamped on her stomach while pregnant, then releasing the suspect on bail.
Other officers dismissed Muslims and immigrants as “scum”, with one talking about using extreme violence against them. He said: “I think any foreign person is the worst to deal with.”
Later he said of an alleged visa overstayer: “Either put a bullet through his head or deport him.”
One sergeant made repeated sexualised remarks including about masturbation. Other officers are caught on tape talking about stamping on suspects, injuring those who do not comply, and elbowing a suspect in leg restraints repeatedly in the face.
Officers were also recorded discussing falsifying a statement after force was used, and avoiding making admissions in front of police cameras in their station meant to deter and detect wrongdoing.
The Met is checking past cases, arrests and use of force by officers shown in the programme, in case other offences are identified, or if they may have jeopardised prosecutions.
A Met spokesperson said: “Panorama highlighted serious issues with the actions and attitudes of some officers and a process is under way to identify cases which may have been affected. No further detail will be provided at this time.”
The allegations have led to nine Met officers being suspended and 11 in total placed under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. One is being criminally investigated.
On LBC radio, Rowley said he hoped action to sack officers could be taken soon because the footage was so clear from the broadcast that it amounted to “incontrovertible evidence”.
The IOPC may seek unbroadcast footage from the BBC. Rowley said: “But frankly some of the content from last night on its own, in my mind, would be enough to move officers to a fast-track misconduct hearing.”
