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UK Met Police Only Worried About Racism, Ignore Extremist Views - Ex-Sergeant

© REUTERS / Peter NichollsLondon Mayor, Sadiq Khan talks with new recruit, Mimi Adil at a passing-out parade at the new "Peel Centre" at the Metropolitan Police Academy in London, Britain September 9, 2016.
London Mayor, Sadiq Khan talks with new recruit, Mimi Adil at a passing-out parade at the new Peel Centre at the Metropolitan Police Academy in London, Britain September 9, 2016. - Sputnik International
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Former female Muslim police officer, Javaria Saeed, who worked for the Metropolitan Police counterterrorism unit, has said that the London force is more concerned with being politically correct, than tackling the extremist views of some Muslim officers.

Ms. Saeed has said that the police force is more concerned with trying not to offend people, as opposed to tackling the extremist views of some Muslim officers.

Javaria Saeed, who worked for the Metropolitan police's counterterrorism department, took exception to comments made by a Muslim constable who said that female genital mutilation was a "clean and honorable practice" that "shouldn't be criminalized."

Ms Saeed's comments were made in a recent interview with a national newspaper, where she called out the Met, saying that their concern for political correctness, came before tacking extremist views.

​Ms. Saeed resigned from the Metropolitan Police force in March after she became disillusioned by the amount of political correctness, which she claimed resulted in a culture of "us and them" to emerge among some Muslim officers, who believed themselves to be above the law.

"My experiences were that it was Muslim officers being racist towards my individual views; also in private, holding racist views against white officers, and sexist views against females. If such views were held and expressed by white officers, they would be fired," Ms. Saeed said in a recent interview. 

A Metropolitan police spokesperson spoke to Sputnik and said that they were aware of the concerns raised by ex-Sergeant, Javaira Saeed.

"On a number of occasions prior to her leaving to the Met [Metropolitan Police], the full range of options for dealing with her concerns was explained to her, ranging from an internal fairness at work procedure through to a full investigation. Each time she was asked if she wanted to document her complaint, so that it could be investigated, she declined," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Sputnik. 

The Met spokesperson said that two other officers did formally make an allegation relating to the use of language used by a Police Constable during a presentation on female genital mutilation in August 2013.

"This matter was fully looked into and the officer given management action. The Met is committed to supporting all victims of crime regardless of what community they come from, key to that is encouraging all victims to come forward and speak out so we can and will take action," the spokesperson said.

The Metropolitan police spokesperson said that despite Ms. Saeed declining to formally record her information as a complaint a full review of the Muslim Contact Unit (MCU) was carried out in 2013, which resulted in a number of recommendations being made. Most of these have been implemented. Since 2013, there have been no further issues or complaints made about the conduct of the officers within the MCU.

"As part of the Met's work to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization, the MCU has been absorbed into a wider community engagement team and no longer exists as a separate unit. However, we continue to engage with the Muslim and other communities to prevent radicalization and the threat from international terrorism.

"We are also committed to increasing the diversity of our own workforce, and making sure that all our staff feel valued and able to speak out if they come across wrong doing. Our Directorate of Professional Standards investigates all allegations; examines all intelligence and supports reporters of wrong doing. Where officers fall below the high standards we will take action. This is vital for public confidence and the confidence of all the men and women of the Met who work to keep London safe," a Metropolitan Police spokesperson told Sputnik.

The Metropolitan police were complimentary of the contribution made by Ms. Saeed, during her time in the force.

"During her career with the Met, Ms. Saeed made a valued contribution to policing London and used her skill and innovation to support community engagement. She successfully passed a promotion board to the rank of Sergeant and was placed on the fast track scheme. Her work was formally recognized and celebrated at the Metropolitan Police Service's annual Excellence Awards ceremony," the spokesperson said.

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