In response, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has diverted approximately 90 officers from serious crimes like tackling organised crime and counter-terrorism to focus on internal standards and cleaning up the police workforce. Sir Mark believes there are hundreds of corrupt officers serving in the force who should not be in the job, and that this issue needs to be resolved as urgently as possible.

The force is carrying out a series of reviews of officers and staff to weed out those who should not be in the job.

More than 1,000 records of officers and staff accused of domestic violence or sexual offences over the past 10 years have been reviewed, with each case also reviewed by an external panel. Sir Mark is also considering tightening the rules around officers and staff with criminal convictions, banning anyone prosecuted for anything other than “the most trivial matters” or offenses committed under the age of 18.

These measures, including revetting officers with concerning behaviour or following criminal investigations, have already uncovered potential misconduct cases. The commissioner also revealed that there have been 1,000 calls to a hotline allowing the public to report Met officers abusing their positions of trust, with 350 reports being responded to and leading to officers being arrested and suspended from duty.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has expressed confidence in Sir Mark’s plan to turn the Met around and ensure the force is delivering for the public. However, the scale of the challenge has become apparent as several hundred officers are potentially facing dismissal, highlighting how widespread the problems within the force have become.