Ex-Met officer arrested for racist WhatsApp chat

[patman post]

I've been to a million freedom protests in London, and observed a far greater degree of violence against predominantly white people.  I've also seen some predominantly black or asian protests, and the police not only try to be very polite, they often have a little dance with them, or take the knee for them, and if there's any trouble from protesters, they are terrified to get their batons out.  There were riots the other day, to do with Iran or India, or whatever foreign stuff is going on, and they were throwing glass bottles at police, who ran away.  So I agree, there's racism, because the police have to ensure they don't arrest too many BAME people, in case they look racist, so they target white people instead.

I confidently doubt that you've been to a million freedom protests in London — so you'll have to excuse me if I also suspect your other claims are also exaggerations...

[Barry]

You could well be right about what might have happened in earlier times, but physical beating by parents and in schools has been thought inappropriate for decades. I'm not convinced its resurrection is likely to help today's situation...

Proverbs 13:24 says "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them."

But you are right, the decline of society can rarely be reversed, it is all downhill from here, so best get used to it.

[cromwell]

Well, when people get arrested for causing anxiety, I do wonder exactly how bad this "racism" could be.

I see

I've been to a million freedom protests in London, and observed a far greater degree of violence against predominantly white people.  I've also seen some predominantly black or asian protests, and the police not only try to be very polite, they often have a little dance with them, or take the knee for them, and if there's any trouble from protesters, they are terrified to get their batons out.  There were riots the other day, to do with Iran or India, or whatever foreign stuff is going on, and they were throwing glass bottles at police, who ran away.  So I agree, there's racism, because the police have to ensure they don't arrest too many BAME people, in case they look racist, so they target white people instead.

So what you're really saying is you think the police discriminate against you,it's funny that's what they're saying.

Bugger of a job they have sometimes and as human beings they don't always get it right and like the rest of humanity have their share of bad people too.

Like I said can't win......stop a car for people not wearing seat belts. "Shouldn't you be out catching burglars"

Well maybe they would be if people weren't glueing themselves to the roads or trying to subvert a court case a la Yaxley Lennon or the million other things they have to do.

[Scott777]

It's not just him. It's the whole institution of a significant part of the Met and, today's Britain and the language they used in closed groups...

I've been to a million freedom protests in London, and observed a far greater degree of violence against predominantly white people.  I've also seen some predominantly black or asian protests, and the police not only try to be very polite, they often have a little dance with them, or take the knee for them, and if there's any trouble from protesters, they are terrified to get their batons out.  There were riots the other day, to do with Iran or India, or whatever foreign stuff is going on, and they were throwing glass bottles at police, who ran away.  So I agree, there's racism, because the police have to ensure they don't arrest too many BAME people, in case they look racist, so they target white people instead.

[Scott777]

Bad stuff apparently,bad enough for him to be arrested and suspended.

Well, when people get arrested for causing anxiety, I do wonder exactly how bad this "racism" could be.

[patman post]

In the 1960s if a copper on the beat saw you doing something you shouldn't he'd give you a telling off.
He might even give you a clip round the ear. If you told your parents, you might get another, but you had respect for the police.
The Met has always been worse than provincial forces for lack of discipline, why, I'm not sure, but bigger is generally worse when it comes to police forces.

I know what is causing the breakdown in society, but I'll keep that for the spiritual forum.

I'm sorry if you found my post authoritarian and unimaginative, PP. I find yours condescending and pig-headed, I hope you don't mind.

No need to apologise. It's refreshing to see beliefs that allow some discussion — but I think it's a pity you think it has to be in a spiritual forum, because I think it needs to be debated in the real world where it might achieve some actual good.

You could well be right about what might have happened in earlier times, but physical beating by parents and in schools has been thought inappropriate for decades. I'm not convinced its resurrection is likely to help today's situation...

[patman post]

Manufactured? Not at all there's a difference between self reliance and crapping on those at the bottom of the heap,that crap is not a fertiliser you know.

Much of the crap fell on those who were caught up in (on either side) the two ideologies of a Tory and a Communist funded agitator. 

Even after the misled strikers had accepted they'd been led down the river by a political pawn, and he was shown to be a sponger, living off what he'd filched from union coffers, even in retirement, there's still people who cannot see, the country needed Thatcher to give it the chance to get back on track.

Blair recognised this, and while he may not be Labour's most popular leader, he cemented Thatcher's victory over excessive trade union power, in place...

PS: apologies for convoluted posting, I've just returned from the pub.. 

[Barry]

Bad stuff apparently,bad enough for him to be arrested and suspended.

The idiots think they are safe on WhatsApp because of encryption. However, almost anything can be screenshot.
They won't want his type in the Home Office, either.

[patman post]

What racist stuff did he say?

It's not just him. It's the whole institution of a significant part of the Met and, today's Britain and the language they used in closed groups...

[cromwell]

What racist stuff did he say?

Bad stuff apparently,bad enough for him to be arrested and suspended.

[Scott777]

What happened to Dixon of Dock Green and the British Bobby. Were they ever there, or were they just a figment of the establishment's imagination?

An ex-Met Police officer, suspended after a BBC investigation revealed he had been posting racist content on WhatsApp, has been arrested.

Rob Lewis, now a Home Office official, is being held on suspicion of offences under the Communications Act and misconduct in a public office.

BBC Newsnight has seen racist messages about flooding in Pakistan, as well as Harry and Meghan, shared in the chat.

The Home Office suspended him, calling the messages "vile and deplorable".

It said it had "a zero-tolerance approach to anyone displaying racist or discriminatory behaviour".

Rob Lewis is understood to have created the group chat, which also included other former Met police officers.

Newsnight has been passed dozens of messages, by a member of the group. Many are too offensive to show. Some contain the very strongest racial slurs.

Some of the posts reference the government's Rwanda policy, while others joke about recent flooding in Pakistan, which left almost 1,700 people dead. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also feature in several memes, alongside racist language.

Several of the members of the WhatsApp group used to work for the Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG), a specialist operations branch of the Met that guards the Houses of Parliament and protects ministers.

Newsnight understands serving police officers were part of the group in question until recently, but many left following the murder of Sarah Everard, last year. Ms Everard was murdered by Wayne Couzens, who was a member of the same specialist branch.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63164818
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/scotland-yard-racism-storm-metropolitan-police-rob-lewis-b1030679.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/h ... 96647.html

And the Met's response on its website:
https://news.met.police.uk/news/respons ... rrent_news

But the racist and misogynistic attitudes among too many officers have there and reported on for years — even before it had NF and BNP sympathisers in its ranks. When will it be seriously dealt with...?

What racist stuff did he say?

[cromwell]

I am sure someone has said that society doesn't exist. But — at the risk of being accused of incorrectly reading your mind — it wasn't Margaret Thatcher. What she said was:

I think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand 'I have a problem, it is the Government's job to cope with it!' or 'I have a problem, I will go and get a grant to cope with it!' 'I am homeless, the Government must house me!' and so they are casting their problems on society and who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first.

Pulling words out of their context to manufacture a point can be a good ploy. But, as in this case, it doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.

Manufactured? Not at all there's a difference between self reliance and crapping on those at the bottom of the heap,that crap is not a fertiliser you know.

[Barry]

In the 1960s if a copper on the beat saw you doing something you shouldn't he'd give you a telling off.
He might even give you a clip round the ear. If you told your parents, you might get another, but you had respect for the police.
The Met has always been worse than provincial forces for lack of discipline, why, I'm not sure, but bigger is generally worse when it comes to police forces.

I know what is causing the breakdown in society, but I'll keep that for the spiritual forum.

I'm sorry if you found my post authoritarian and unimaginative, PP. I find yours condescending and pig-headed, I hope you don't mind.

[patman post]

Of course, Dixon of Dock Green was a figment of imagination and he didn't exist.
What has happened is a breakdown in discipline across society, through government, police, courts, prisons and on the streets and even in social media.
Discipline, lack of, is the problem.

For a poster who appears to accept the allegories and parables of the Good Book, that does come across as excessively authoritarian and unimaginative.

What do you suggest has caused, or led to, this breakdown in discipline across society?

Thinking back, I first really noticed spiteful abrupt confrontation spreading into society's "upper echelons" — ie, arts administration, business, politics, etc — from about 2015, though it was probably growing from the '50s and '60s as cap doffing and forelock tugging diminished...

[patman post]

"Evening all" 

It's funny though that things like the police,politics,nhs and the link in this provided by the bbc were all once revered British institutions are now the subject of mistrust and disdain something went wrong not just with the met but across the whole of society which someone famously said
doesn't exist,

I am sure someone has said that society doesn't exist. But — at the risk of being accused of incorrectly reading your mind — it wasn't Margaret Thatcher. What she said was:

I think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand 'I have a problem, it is the Government's job to cope with it!' or 'I have a problem, I will go and get a grant to cope with it!' 'I am homeless, the Government must house me!' and so they are casting their problems on society and who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves first.

Pulling words out of their context to manufacture a point can be a good ploy. But, as in this case, it doesn't really stand up to scrutiny.