Met officer sacked for gross misconduct after BBC Panorama Charing Cross investigation

A Metropolitan Police officer has been sacked for gross misconduct after appearing in an undercover report by BBC Panorama.

Three allegations were upheld against PC Philip Neilson, including making “highly racist and discriminatory remarks” about different ethnic groups.

Mr Neilson is the first of 10 officers to face a hearing as part of the Met’s accelerated misconduct proceedings over footage recorded during the Panorama investigation.

In it, he used derogatory and violent language about suspects who belong to ethnic and religious minorities while serving as a constable in the Central West Command Unit.

Mr Neilson was also accused of “glorifying what he was describing as inappropriate use of force on a restrained detainee” and for suggesting unlawful violence against migrants who broke the law. Chair of the panel, Cmdr Jason Prins, found all the allegations proven.

The hearing, in south-west London on Thursday, was told that he did not dispute the words he said but argued they only amounted to just misconduct.

Giving evidence, Mr Neilson said he had been a police officer for four years and denied he was a racist.

He said he believed the undercover reporter “breached his humans rights” and it was the reporter who “kept bringing up these conversations” and “egging me on”.

Mr Neilson said he had eight or nine pints of Guinness while at the pub when he made some of the comments and said he was not a “drinker”.

He said he did not discriminate against anyone and footage from his body worn camera would show “no matter the ethnicity I did everything with the utmost respect”.

Cmdr Prins ruled that Mr Neilson’s comments caused “significant harm” to the reputation of Metropolitan Police and wider public confidence in the police and amounted to gross misconduct, describing the conduct of the officer as an “utter disgrace”.

“He alone was responsible for the comments and it was or must have been obvious to him his comments were abhorrent,” Cmdr Prins added.