Sadiq Khan warns Met has moved ‘backwards’ since Stephen Lawrence murder and says racism is ‘worryingly real’

Exclusive: Sadiq Khan warns there has’t been the ‘progress we thought there would be’ 25 years after the publication of the Macpherson report

Sadiq Khan has hit out at claims institutional racism in the police is “fake” or “woke”, warning that the Metropolitan Police has moved backwards in some ways since the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence more than three decades ago.

The issue is still “a matter of life and death” for Black Britons today, the London mayor said.

His comments come on the 25th anniversary of the damning Macpherson report, which sensationally declared the Metropolitan Police institutionally racist.

The inquiry was launched after Lawrence was murdered by a gang in Eltham, London, as he ran to catch a bus.

In an article for The Independent, Mr Khan said that “we owe it to Stephen, his family and to today’s Londoners” to ensure racism is a “relic of the past, not a stain on our present or a blight on our children’s futures”.

He also hit out at a “deeply disturbing political trend to downplay or even deny the existence of institutional racism”.

“Institutional racism isn’t “fake” or “woke”, it’s worryingly real,” he said.

The report found the Met Police’s investigation into the fatal stabbing had been “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership”.

Only two of his killers – Gary Dobson and David Norris – have been brought to justice.

Speaking to The Independent, the London mayor said: “I must first pay tribute to Doreen Lawrence [Stephen Lawrence’s mother].

“She deserves huge credit for changing the way we speak about racism in the police and also by changing civic life through her campaigning.

“Although progress has been made in improving racism in the police, I’m afraid it is nowhere near enough where we need to be. In some instances, things are going backwards.

“One of the main reasons I asked Louise Casey to conduct an investigation into the standards of the Met Police is because I am well aware of these cultural issues that still exist.”

Last year, a review by Baroness Casey, commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, laid bare a series of grave concerns about the Met Police’s culture and standards.

The damning report found that Britain’s largest police force is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic, with unacceptable behaviour being “allowed to flourish”.

The force, which has lurched between a series of scandals in recent years, was placed into special measures following the findings, which Baroness Casey said she hopes will lead to fundamental change in the force.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct found, from 2022 to 2023, 646 allegations of discriminatory behaviour were lodged against Metropolitan Police officers – the most for any police force in England and Wales.

This includes eight officers who are being investigated by the police watchdog after a black teenager was stopped and searched in London six times in five months.

Mr Khan added: “The Metropolitan Police Service, is I’m afraid, institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic. There has not been the progress we thought there would be over the last 25 years.

“The hostile environment faced by the Windrush generation is unacceptable. The government must make sure legislation is passed to support those who have been the victims, just as how they have committed to compensate the Post Office scandal victims.

“We have got to stay vigilant – always.”

Earlier this week, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the force is facing a “deeply concerning” shortfall in officer numbers amid recruitment struggles.

The Met Police will be 1,400 officers short at the end of March, and 2,650 short by March 2025 at current application and recruitment levels, according to the commissioner.

He said current pay levels, which are set nationally, are an issue in the London employment market, as well as potential applicants being put off by the series of scandals that have damaged the Met’s reputation.

Mr Rowley has previously rejected the use of the term “institutional” used by the Casey review to describe his force’s problems because it is an “ambiguous” and political term that might imply most people in the Met were racist.

But he said he welcomed the report and was already working on a number of its recommendations.