Athlete Bianca Williams, who was stopped, searched and handcuffed by police in July 2020 (Martin Rickett/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)A Team GB athlete, Bianca Williams, was driving through west London in July 2020 with her boyfriend when they were stopped by police. After being searched, they were put in handcuffs while their three-month-old son — who was in the car — was placed on a safeguarding database.
The couple complained that they had been subject to racial profiling and essentially stopped by the Met for the supposed crime of driving while black.
After this case — which was filmed and posted online — came to light, Scotland Yard insisted its officers had acted appropriately. Then-Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said “any officer worth their salt” would have stopped the car because of the way it was being driven.
However, five officers now face gross misconduct proceedings following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
When it is evidence-led and properly targeted, stop and search can be an important tool to prevent violence. But cases like these demonstrate far deeper issues at the Met, already identified by the IOPC report into Charing Cross police station and elsewhere.
The Met has far to go in transforming its culture and engaging with communities to build and maintain trust with all Londoners.
Get a grip on passports
As the 10-week target for processing passport applications is rendered largely decorative, the public is understandably demanding better.
The Prime Minister’s reflex response — to privatise the problem — does not get to the crux of the matter. And it is another example of an issue ministers should have seen coming a mile off.
A nation deprived of foreign holidays for much of the past two years will not take kindly to missing out again this summer because of delays at the Passport Office. The Government would be wise to get a grip on this problem — and fast.
