The Met Police has a serious problem

Content warning: rape, murder, sexual assaults, police brutality

A couple of days ago, an police officer from London’s Metropolitan Police was convicted for rape and murder, and sentenced to a whole-life prison term, which means that there is no chance of a parole.

It is always shocking when a police officer breaches the trust in such a way, but now the Mirror shows that he was far from the only one.

Fury as 26 Met police colleagues of Wayne Couzens committed sex crimes since 2016

A damning probe into the Met Police today reveals 26 colleagues of murderer Wayne Couzens have committed sex crimes since 2016.

Offences included rape and possessing indecent images of children. Two officers were jailed in April, a month after Couzens raped and killed Sarah Everard.

The alarming figures uncovered by the Sunday Mirror come as pressure mounts on Met Commissioner Cressida Dick to stand down – and for the force to be given a radical overhaul to end a sexist culture.

Labour’s Harriet Harman said: “Women’s confidence in the police has been shattered.”

A staggering 27 Met Police officers were convicted of sex crimes in the past five years, a Sunday Mirror probe has found.

As happens in all institutions where sexism has been allowed to stay unchallenged, it has grown into much worse things. The leadership of London’s Metropolitan Police has accepted a culture, where the police officers have felt safe being sexist or worse

Former Det Supt Paige Kimberley tells how – days after Sarah was murdered – she warned Dame Cressida about a WhatsApp group where male officers were sharing pornographic images and offensive remarks

A panel found their behaviour to be “distasteful” but did NOT amount to misconduct. It is now known the group is similar to the one Couzens and colleagues used in the run-up to 33-year-old Sarah’s death.

The leadership has failed, and there needs to be a reckoning – and there needs to be a purge of the officers in the force, removing everyone who has either participated in these things, or turned a blind eye to it.

Some Sunday music

I have recently discovered the Ukrainian band Jinjer, and I absolutely love them – the members of the band are all astonishing musicians