Metropolitan Police: Casey Review

John McDonnell Excerpts

Tuesday 21st March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Suella Braverman]

My hon. Friend is right to say that discriminatory attitudes and behaviours, whether racism, misogyny or homophobia, have no place in policing. I was appalled to read the shocking stories in the report. We need to ensure that the police act with the highest levels of honesty and integrity. We have to ensure that standards are improved, that we strengthen vetting, and that there is better police training and a more diverse leadership pipeline. All those measures, supported by the Mayor of London, will bring about real change.

[John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)]

I associate myself with the words of the Father of the House about Gurpal Virdi. The relationship between the Metropolitan police and the Asian community, particularly in west London, was damaged by that case and also by the failure of the Met to properly investigate the death of my constituent Ricky Reel 25 years ago. It was subsequently discovered, when Ricky’s family were appealing for more police resources, that police resources were being applied to surveilling the family and the campaign itself.

The new commissioner has launched a new inquiry with a new inquiry team, but we need the assistance of the Home Secretary in releasing the confidential report that was undertaken by the Police Complaints Authority in the late 1990s exposing the failures of the original investigation, as well as the family liaison officer logs that were kept during that period, so that we can again look at what happened to Ricky subsequent to the racial attack that he suffered. The ownership of those documents is with the Home Secretary, not with the Met commissioner. I wrote to the Home Secretary in February about this. Please can I have a positive reply as soon as possible, to reassure the family?

[Suella Braverman]

It is clear that the Met needs to command the confidence of all communities, including those from black and ethnic groups, in London. That is why Sir Mark’s turnaround plan specifically covers better engagement with communities; it is vital that trust is rebuilt within those communities. There are lots of measures in train and I know that the Met commissioner takes very seriously the relationship and the trust among communities. I will look into the specific issue to which the right hon. Gentleman refers.