Met Police officers investigated over racism claim

Three Metropolitan Police officers are being investigated over allegations they made racists comments.

The acting sergeant and two PCs, based in Newham, east London, have been placed on restricted duties while the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigates.

The alleged comments are said to have been made earlier this year to other officers and were reported on 19 March.

The Met decided to refer the matter to the IPCC on Wednesday.

The fresh allegations come after Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe vowed to get to the bottom of an incident, brought to light through "very damaging" footage from last summer, of one officer apparently racially abusing a man and another allegedly assaulting a teenage boy.

Following the latest incident Commander Peter Spindler, MPS Directorate of Professional Standards, said: "These are serious allegations that are being thoroughly investigated so that robust action can be taken if proven.

"The commissioner has already stated there is no place for racist behaviour in the Met and we will work with the IPCC to identify any wrongdoing."

Last week, a man arrested in the week of the London riots last summer described how he was subjected to racial abuse, which he says he recorded on his mobile phone.

The 21-year-old man, who has not been identified, told journalists the police used racial epithets and said his mother was a "whore".

A policeman has now been suspended as the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reassesses the man's complaint.

And this week, an officer was placed on restricted duties while allegations of an assault, also last summer, on a teenage prisoner are investigated.