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Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has made jibes at the BBC over its co-operation with investigations into officers who were filmed making grossly offensive comments by an undercover Panorama reporter.
At the beginning of this month, the broadcaster released Panorama: Undercover in the Police which exposed racist and discriminatory comments and actions by officers based at Charing Cross police station.
Four of them have since been dismissed at specially accelerated hearings conducted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) with more expected to be hauled into hearing in the coming days.
However, Sir Mark today released a statement blaming the BBC for delays which have struck some of the planned hearings, claiming their co-operation had 'fallen short'.
The commissioner first highlighted his gratitude for the broadcaster's journalism which 'exposed the appalling behaviour of a number of officers who are now going through misconduct proceedings'.
But he then went on to complain that the BBC had only yesterday submitted unaired footage from their undercover investigation to the IOPC, despite 'repeated requests'.
This 'late disclosure' has allowed for adjournment applications which have now stalled the misconduct hearings for other officers in relation to the Panorama findings.
'While adjournments are standard to ensure each hearing can fairly consider all the available evidence, it is extremely frustrating to be in this position,' he added.
He went on to explain how the Met have worked with the IOPC 'to schedule hearings less than a month after the broadcast' - a 'commitment' made in response to the public's expectation that the officers in question would be dealt with 'swiftly'.
Sir Mark continued: 'The actions of the BBC, which should be acting in the public interest, have added unnecessary complications to what is already a bureaucratic, complex and highly legalistic misconduct system for police.
'The hearings will be rescheduled by the chairs at the earliest opportunity.'
Replying to his comments, a BBC spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'We are glad to see the Met's recognition of the value of Panorama's journalism and we are actively engaged with assisting the IOPC.'
The IOPC's response suggested no concern towards the Beeb and their co-operation with its investigations.
An IOPC spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'We're aware of the decision to adjourn some of the Met's accelerated misconduct hearings following our investigation into the conduct of officers based at Charing Cross, and we await the new dates for these matters.
'From the outset of our investigation, we have had ongoing communication with the BBC to request footage that is relevant to our investigation.
'We are grateful that further material has been recently provided to us by the BBC, which we are reviewing as part of our ongoing investigation.'
In the last two days, four Met Police officers from Charing Cross police station who featured in the Panorama episode have been dismissed.
Experienced custody manager sergeant Joe McIlvenny and constables Phil Neilson and Martin Borg were dismissed yesterday without notice after they were found to have committed gross misconduct for their 'abhorrent' behaviour.
And PC Jason Sinclair-Birt, who boasted about and revelled in the use of force on a detainee, was today dismissed at an an accelerated misconduct hearing in south London.
But the officer did not use the excessive force he described, did not draw his baton, and later said he was embellishing an account of a previous incident for 'comedic effect', James Berry KC said on behalf of the appropriate authority.
![PC Sinclair-Birt (pictured) said he 'whacked the s**t out of the back of his [a detainee's] legs trying to get him to the floor'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/10/24/23/103296575-15225271-PC_Sinclair_Birt_pictured_said_he_whacked_the_s_t_out_of_the_bac-a-6_1761345981725.jpg)
Chairman Commander Jason Prins said he was satisfied the breach of conduct amounted to gross misconduct and PC Sinclair-Birt was dismissed without notice.
Commander Prins said: 'The officer has chosen to share a false account which revelled in the use of excessive force. In my view the false account was meant to be taken at face value.'
Mr Berry said the appropriate authority's case in regard to PC Sinclair-Birt is that the officer was 'boasting about and revelling in the use of force, and what he was describing as an excessive use of force, on a detainee'.
PC Sinclair-Birt denied gross misconduct, the hearing was told.
The programme shows him in a conversation with a colleague describing a detainee he dealt with, saying he got elbowed in the face, but 'I had the last laugh' as when he was standing up in the van wearing leg restraints 'I just started beating the shit out of the back of his legs', Mr Berry said.
The officer was 'smiling' when describing it, the hearing was told.
PC Sinclair-Birt said he 'whacked the s**t out of the back of his legs trying to get him to the floor', Mr Berry added.
The officer then laughed and said 'never got a complaint', before adopting a mocking voice to say 'oh it was police brutality', the hearing was told.
PC Sinclair-Birt said on the programme it was 'five or six strikes to his f***ing legs', then added 'it wasn't a good look' and 'there's definitely a bit of red mist there'.
The officer he was talking to said he was sure PC Sinclair-Birt could 'justify it somehow', to which he replied: 'I did apparently', the hearing was told.
Mr Berry told the hearing that PC Sinclair-Birt's response to the allegation is that 'these were empty words and not a true account' and he was embellishing an account which did occur in 2022 for 'comedic effect'.
Footage of the encounter PC Sinclair-Birt was discussing was played to the hearing, in which a suspect assaulted the officer by headbutting him in the face - the suspect was convicted of assaulting an emergency worker, Mr Berry added.
PC Sinclair-Birt used 'lawful' force and never deployed his baton during the incident, Mr Berry added.
Mr Berry said the comments were meant to be 'humorous in the context of an informal chat with colleagues', and PC Sinclair-Birt used 'dark humour as a coping strategy'.
He added: 'I'm happy to confirm he did not use the excessive force that he described, he did not even draw his baton.'
But Mr Berry said PC Sinclair-Birt 'did however give a very credible sounding account' to his colleagues.
PC Sinclair-Birt appeared to 'glorify, boast about and revel in the use of force', Mr Berry said.
Giving evidence, PC Sinclair-Birt was asked if he intended the conversation to be taken at face value, and he said 'definitely not'.
McIlvenny was sacked after 24 years' service after he was found to have repeatedly made grossly offensive and misogynistic comments in Panorama: Undercover in the Police.
Footage showed he 'trivialised and mocked' the account of a rape victim with a colleague, and compared a female detainee wearing a fancy dress police outfit with 'the sort of women he would pay to see in nightclubs'.
He was also caught on camera 'speaking graphically about sexual matters in the workplace' and about a woman being grossly overweight.
McIlvenny laughed as he told undercover reporter Rory Bibb not to discuss the use of force on detainees in areas inside the station where he could be overheard or picked up on cameras.
McIlvenny said his comments were 'taken out of context' and 'heavily edited', that he had been diagnosed with work-related PTSD, but that he was not insensitive towards any rape complainants.
Ex-colleague Neilson was sacked after four years, having faced claims he made 'highly racist remarks' and 'glorifying' what he described as the inappropriate use of force on a detainee.
The documentary showed Neilson in the pub claiming people from the Middle East are 'scum'.
In another clip, Neilson said the way to deal with a detainee who overstayed his visa was to 'f***ing either put a bullet through his head or deport', and 'the ones that sh*g, rape women, you do the c*ck and let them bleed out'.
Neilson said he was 'egged on' by the undercover reporter's 'incessant' questioning, was affected by drinking up to nine pints of Guinness, and that he made 'misguided attempts at bravado'.
He denied he was racist, or held discriminatory views, adding: 'I treat everyone with respect.'
Borg was also sacked after six years after being found to have 'revelled' in the use of force, and making discriminatory remarks about Muslims.
The footage showed Borg claiming 'Islam is a problem - a serious problem' during a trip to the pub.
He also told the undercover officer he 'enjoyed' having 'scraps'.
Borg accused the BBC reporter of 'grooming' him 'over the course of months', but said there was nothing wrong with referring to someone with swear words if it was done in private and not during the course of his work.
Mr Berry said the Met had gone to 'very considerable efforts' to tackle racism, sexism and misogyny in the last three years.
He said: 'The messaging both internally and externally has been crystal clear that sexism, misogyny and racism are not tolerated in the MPS.
'No officer in the MPS in 2024 or 2025 could be in the slightest doubt about this.'
He said this work was 'significantly undermined' by the officers' conduct.
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has made cleaning up the country's largest police force his personal crusade, getting rid of nearly 1,500 officers in the last three years since he took on the job.
The Met said the entire custody team Charing Cross has been disbanded while the investigation continues.