Six former Met Police officers handed suspended jail sentences after sending racist messages 'about Meghan Markle'
7 December 2023, 17:16 | Updated: 7 December 2023, 18:03
Six former Met Police officers have been handed suspended prison sentences after sending racist messages.
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The men, who were all in their sixties, retired between 2001 and 2015, and the messages were sent between 2018 and 2022, meaning none of them were serving in the force at the time of the conversations.
Five of the former officers pleaded guilty to sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages, while one pleaded not guilty and was later convicted.
They were sentenced to suspended sentences of between six weeks and 14 weeks in jail, as well as unpaid work.
Some of the messages they sent were said to be about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, while others related to the government's Rwanda policy, and flooding in Pakistan.
Deputy chief magistrate Tan Ikram said the six defendants had harmed trust in the police with the messages.
He did not accept an argument that the language was merely "antiquated".
Mr Ikram called the messages "offensive to many good people in this country and not only people who might be directly offended".
The WhatsApp exchange had come to light during a Newsnight investigation.
All of the men worked at in the Diplomatic Protection Group, which is now known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, during their careers.
The six men are:
Peter Booth, 66, of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, pleaded guilty to four counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.
Booth, who left the Met in 2001, was sentenced to eight weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and 140 hours unpaid work.
Robert Lewis, 62, of Camberley, Surrey, pleaded guilty to eight counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.
Lewis, who quit the force in 2015, was sentenced to 14 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and 200 hours of unpaid work.
Anthony Elsom, 67, of Bournemouth, Dorset, pleaded guilty to three counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.
Elsom, who retired from the Met in 2021, was sentenced to eight weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and 140 hours of unpaid work. He retired from the Met in May 2012.
Alan Hall, 65, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, pleaded guilty to three counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.
Hall, who was sentenced to eight weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and 40 hours of unpaid work, retired from the Met in 2015.
Trevor Lewton, 65, of Swansea, pleaded guilty to one count of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.
Lewton, who stepped down in 2009, was given six weeks in prison suspended for 12 months and 65 hours of unpaid work.
Michael Chadwell, 62, of Liss, Hampshire, who quit the Met in 2015, was found guilty of one count of sending by public communication a grossly offensive racist message.
He was sentenced to 10 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months and 100 hours of unpaid work.
Commander James Harman, who leads the Met’s Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, said: “The racist and discriminatory content of these messages is absolutely appalling and, given the defendants once served as police officers, we recognise that this case may further damage confidence in policing. Colleagues across the Met will also be disgusted and will be pleased to see the outcome today.
“The messages were brought to our attention by the BBC's Newsnight programme in October 2022, and we made our first arrest soon after we were notified. I hope this case also demonstrates our commitment to take all allegations of criminality and misconduct seriously, investigate those reports thoroughly and, where we have evidence of discrimination and abuse, to bring criminal charges against individuals.
“The messaging in this case took place on WhatsApp – but it could have been on any other platform, or communicated verbally. It is less about the technology – it is the underlying mind-set and the conduct that is so important for us to deal with."
Adeniyi Ogunleye, senior crown prosecutor at the CPS, said: "It is shocking that six retired police officers who spent their careers upholding the law could think it was acceptable to send these grossly offensive messages.
"The sentences given today clearly demonstrate that they were not just shocking or disturbing jokes, but grossly offensive messages that amount to criminal behaviour.
"This case sends a clear signal that whenever our legal test is met, the CPS will prosecute these offences robustly."
