Met police accused of failing to address toxic culture in firearms unit

In a survey of female officers who had left the unit, all reported being affected by sexist and misogynistic behaviour. Photograph: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

The Metropolitan police has been accused of failing to deal with the “toxic culture” inside its firearms unit after the number of internal misconduct investigations rose to its highest level since 2018.

A wide-ranging investigation by Baroness Louise Casey last year found that the Met was institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynistic. Casey singled out its Specialist Firearms Command unit – also known as MO19 – accusing it of having a “deeply troubling, toxic culture” where “normal rules do not seem to apply” and staff were “well-connected to senior officers in the Met”.