Ex-Met police officer in UK suspended over racist WhatsApp posts. Details here

An immigration officer in the UK was accused of posting racist content on a WhatsApp group, and once a BBC investigation exposed the matter, the official at the Home Office was suspended.

It has been revealed that Rob Lewis, a former Metropolitan Police Officer, has created a WhatsApp group chat where other former officers of the Met police are also included.

BBC Newsnight noticed some racist messages about Harry and Meghan and the flood situation in Pakistan shared in the group chat. The Home Office considered those messages "vile and deplorable" and took a zero-tolerance approach to such discriminatory behaviour.


Newsnight also revealed dozens of messages shared by a member of the group, which also included racist and offensive images. Moreover, some messages contain extreme racial disgrace.



Rob Lewis refused to respond to any questions about the group.

FAQ:

1. What do the messages refer to, as shared by an ex-Met police officer in a WhatsApp group?
   Some of the messages refer to the government’s Rwanda policy, ridiculing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the recent flooding situation in Pakistan, which caused almost 1,700 deaths.
2. Who are the WhatsApp group members accused of spreading racial and insensitive content?
   Many WhatsApp group members once worked for the Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG), an expert operations division of the Met that protects the House of Parliament and is liable to safeguard ministers.
3. Who passed the controversial messages to the BBC?
   Dave Eden, one former member of the DPG, who has also been on the WhatsApp group since the beginning, exposed those messages to the BBC.