'Beyond comprehension!' Met Police lambasted for 'utterly appalling' lack of vetting process for 'monster' officers

An internal Met Police review has uncovered that vetting standards were significantly weakened between 2018 and 2023.

Condemning the Met, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said abandoning vetting checks on officers was a "dereliction of the Met's duty to keep London safe".

Expressing his outrage at the revelation, Mr Bleksley told GB News: "Many of the problems that they've had have stemmed from this lack of correct vetting of people, because many of them have gone on to commit appalling crimes.

"There has been story after story of police officers convicted of very serious criminality, from rape to corruption charges to all manner of misdemeanours and serious crimes."

He added: "And this is because they lowered the bar in their haste to largely recruit Boris Johnson's 20,000, and this affected some 5,000 in the Met.

"And we, the public, have paid the price because people utterly unsuited to policing have got their way in, have got warrant cards, uniforms and then gone on to behave appallingly."

Asked by host Ellie Costello if he is "shocked" or "surprised" by the revelation, Mr Bleksley told GB News: "I am all of those things, but I'm also saddened. I'm saddened for the really good police officers, those who join that want to serve the public, that want to help people in their moment of need, and then they have to end up working alongside monsters like that.

"But there's one word this morning that's missing from from Shabana Mahmood's understandable outrage, from the words of senior police officers and, of course, the inspector who are going to do a thorough inquiry. There's one important word missing and that is accountability.

"Who is going to be held accountable for making such dreadful decisions to allow these people in? Who's responsible for lowering the bar? Who made that policy? That senior police officer needs to be named, shamed and sent packing from policing."

He fumed: "It's beyond comprehension that people can be allowed into a role such as policing without the most strident checks being carried out.

"Back in the day, you had a home visit from a police officer and they would poke their nose around and have a look at what your living circumstances were like as well, of course, as checking things like if you were a youngster, school reports and the like.

"All of that just got thrown away in an effort to try and get as many people through the front door of the training school as they possibly could.

"And some of these people deliberately joined the police because they were members of organised crime gangs.

"They joined so that they could access police computer systems, data systems, find out what the police might be doing in investigations against them.

"It's utterly appalling and it's such a shame not only for the public, but for the good cops who had to work alongside such vermin."

Highlighting that it will result in a further "lack of trust" in the police by the British public, Mr Bleksley concluded: "The public should rightfully expect that a police officer that turns up when you've made that 999 call, when you're having one of the worst days of your life, that the police officer that turns up is going to be upright, honest, truthful, and he's going to help you, and he's not a criminal in any way, shape or form."

In a statement, Assistant Commissioner for the Met Police Rachel Williams said: "In publishing this report today, we are being open and transparent about past vetting and recruitment practices that led, in some cases, to unsuitable people joining the Met.

"We found that some historical practices did not meet the strengthened hiring and vetting standards that we have today.

"We identify these issues ourselves and have fixed them quickly, while making sure that any risks that the public has been properly and effectively managed."

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "Abandoning vetting checks on officers was a dereliction of the Met's duty to keep London safe.

"Londoners rightly expect officers to undergo robust checks so that the brightest and best – not criminals - are policing our streets.

"I have asked the Chief Inspector of Constabulary to carry out an inspection as I seek to restore trust in the force's ability to protect and serve the public."