London authorities revealed that six former Met police officers were given suspended prison sentences for sending racist WhatsApp messages regarding Megan Markle and members of the royal family.
Commander James Harman, who leads the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, issued a statement saying that the racist and discriminatory messages were "absolutely appalling."
Met Police Officers Charged Over Racism
He added that given the defendants previously served as law enforcement personnel, the latest incident will most likely damage confidence in policing even further. All of the defendants, who are all retired, were changed following an investigation conducted by the BBC's Newsnight program.
The probe found that all six of the men sent the messages between August 2018 and September 2022, which is a period when they had all already left the police force. Three of the alleged messages featured racist comments regarding Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, King Charles' younger son.
Another one of the messages also included an image of the late Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip. The others referenced Charles' eldest son and heir Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, as per Reuters.
On top of the messages targeting royal family members and those close to them, they also referenced British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The latter is the region's first prime minister of color.
Five of the six suspects, who are all in their 60s, pleaded guilty to sending offensive messages in September. They were all sentenced on Thursday to between six and 14 weeks of imprisonment, suspended for 12 months.
They had worked in various departments at the police force but had all served in the Diplomatic Protection Group. The group has, in the last two years, seen one former member convicted of murder and rape and another jailed for carrying out 24 rapes and other sex offenses over two decades.
Targeting Royal Family Members
Last month, a trial at City of London Magistrates' Court convicted one of the suspects, 62-year-old Michael Chadwell of sending an offensive message despite pleading not guilty. He was sentenced to 10 weeks of imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, according to LiveMint.
Metropolitan Police is Britain's largest police force and it has been beset by scandals in the last few years. These include racism, misogyny, and homophobia. Chief Mark Rowley will be responsible for managing the force and removing unsuitable individuals.
Chadwell was also found to have shared a graphic that was created by someone else in the "Old Boys Beer Meet - Wales" group of retired officers. The photo featured differently colored parrots above an image of children of different races.
The text of the image said, "Why do we cherish the variety of color in every species but our own?" Underneath was a comment in response that said, "Because I have never had a bike stolen out of my front yard by a parrot."
The six individuals include Chadwell, 66-year-old Peter Booth, 67-year-old Anthony Elsom, 65-year-old Trevor Lewton, 65-year-old Alan Hall, and 62-year-old Robert Lewis. The Government department said that Lewis was a Home Office official before he was dismissed for gross misconduct last November, said Yahoo News.
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