Police Federation sacks officer representing ethnic minority colleagues in discrimination claims

Cleveland Police has been accused of using anti-terrorism powers to snoop on officers blowing the whistle on racism

Police recruits (Getty)

A policeman who represents nine black and Asian colleagues bringing discrimination claims against one of Britain’s most troubled police forces has been sacked as chairman of his local Police Federation branch.

The Independent revealed that Cleveland Police faces a slew of legal claims after being accused of using controversial anti-terrorism powers to snoop on officers blowing the whistle on racism.

Paul Brown has now been stripped of his role as chairman of Cleveland Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers. He was barred from returning to his office following a row with other branch officials. Mr Brown claims that complaints by Asian officers detailed to the Police Federation – which acts as a union for officers – had been leaked back to the force.

“It is a matter of great concern that some officers… have taken my representation of members’ interests as meaning that I am somehow seeking to undermine the force,” Mr Brown said in the letter sent to federation colleagues as he fought to save his position.

“Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is when BME [black and minority ethnic] officers and others who are potentially vulnerable to discriminatory behaviour are not ‘listened to’, that the Force is brought into disrepute.”

Mr Brown is now threatening to expose criminal practices within the ranks of Cleveland Police. He claims that he has been victimised and harassed for supporting claims of racism and blowing the whistle on failures within the force, according to a document seen by The Independent.

It is understood that he will allege at an employment tribunal that charges against suspects were dropped to clear the way for the arresting officers to be targeted for internal misconduct investigations, and information secured during police inquiries was passed to the private sector.

The officer, who has served in Cleveland for 20 years, claims he was targeted after supporting ethnic minority officers. His claims are part of the continuing fallout from a damning employment tribunal in November that exposed a racist campaign within Cleveland against an Asian firearms officer, who was described by his fellow officers as “just a Paki”. The tribunal found that officers within the force were out to discredit Nadeem Saddique as a liar, while the force failed to properly investigate his complaints, which included a white colleague sporting an English Defence League sticker on his holster. Mr Saddique’s case is the first of at least six being brought against the embattled force.

This newspaper revealed yesterday that Mr Brown’s predecessor in the post was among officers, a lawyer and journalists who had five months of phone data trawled by officers from Cleveland Police using controversial anti-terrorism powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa).

Mr Brown, the force and the Police Federation of England and Wales all declined to comment over the dispute.