Mark Rowley, the highest-ranking police official in Britain described it as “absurd” that a court ruling issued on Tuesday prevented him from dismissing active officers who did not pass a vetting assessment, regardless of allegations of rape or other major offences against them.
Mark Rowley, Commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), faces significant pressure to reform his force, the largest and most prominent in the nation, following the conviction of several officers for major high-profile crimes, including murder and rape.
To restore public faith, he initiated a plan to reassess the screening approvals of serving officers who had previously encountered charges of domestic or sexual offences but had not been convicted.
The objective was to eliminate candidates who would not qualify under existing vetting protocols.
On Tuesday, the High Court in London annulled a decision to revoke the vetting clearance of a serving sergeant who had been accused of rape and other misconduct, determining that such action would be unlawful and infringe upon his human rights. The sergeant refuted all the accusations.
“Today’s ruling on the law has left policing in a hopeless position,” Rowley said. “We now have no mechanism to rid the Met of officers who are not fit to hold vetting. It is absolutely absurd that we cannot lawfully sack them.”
Inquiries in recent years have found serial failings and mistakes in the MPS’s vetting of officers, and flawed investigations into those against whom complaints were made. A 2023 review concluded the MPS was institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.
In the past 18 months, 90 officers have been sacked or resigned during the review process brought in by Rowley, 29 have lost their vetting clearance, and more than 100 are still having their vetting reviewed.
Mark Rowley said the court’s ruling, which the MPS will appeal, meant those officers who had lost their vetting clearance would be placed on special leave at a cost of millions of pounds.
“A ridiculous waste of money, but the least bad option until regulations are repaired,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Home Office (interior ministry) said the government was acting rapidly to change the rules to allow those who had lost their vetting clearance to be sacked.
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