Scotland Yard policy was to cover up discrimination, claims lawyer of bullied black firearms officer as Boris gives in to demands for review

Deleting internal records of sex and race discrimination was a 'policy' at the Met Police, according to the lawyer of a black firearms officer who was bullied for a year.

Pc Carol Howard, 35, was intimidated by a senior officer who spied on her through Facebook after she called in sick, an employment tribunal found this week.

The case revealed that a detective sergeant looking into her complaint was told to delete references to discrimination and harassment from an internal report.

Ms Howard's lawyer, Kiran Daurka, has now claimed that deleting findings of discrimination was 'a policy' within the Met Police so that they could avoid having to investigate their officers.

She told the BBC: 'We anticipate that wherever there's findings of discrimination they are being instructed to delete them.'

Pc Carol Howard, 34, who was in Diplomatic Protection Group, was subjected to a year of bullying in the Metropolitan Police, who then deleted sections of an internal report on her case, a tribunal found

Mayor of London Boris Johnson today said he is 'dismayed' by the tribunal's findings and has agreed to review previous complaints within the Met police to see if other

reports were altered.

Pc Howard was thrust into the spotlight in 2012 when the Met chose her to be a poster girl for a magazine feature on the 10,000 men and women on duty during the Olympics.

But a tribunal ruled the elite Diplomatic Protection Group officer was unfairly treated by her inspector who singled her out from colleagues.

When the Met found out she had brought an employment tribunal, all references to discrimination and harassment were removed from the document.

The tribunal found this was done 'not because they were not supported by evidence in the report, but because the claimant had brought a complaint of race and sex discrimination in the tribunal'.

Ms Daurka, of law firm Slater & Gordon, called for a full public inquiry into how the Met handles race discrimination claims.

Miss Howard featured in a magazine article on the 10,000 men and women on duty during the 2012 London Olympics but she was the victim of intimidation and spying by a senior office, a tribunal has now found

She branded the judgment a 'damning indictment' of the Met and said its conduct has been 'deplorable'.

'My client was subjected to discriminatory treatment because she is black and because she is a woman,' she said.

'Fifteen years after the Met was branded "institutionally racist" they have failed in addressing discrimination which pervades the system.

SPIED ON AND BULLIED - THE TRIBUNAL'S FINDINGS IN PC HOWARD'S SHOCKING CASE

The tribunal ruled that Miss Howard's supervisor, Acting Inspector Dave Kelly, showed a 'personal hostility or antipathy' towards her and worked to 'undermine, discredit and belittle her'.

It found that within weeks of becoming her boss he formed the view that she was 'dishonest' and not up to the standard of her colleagues 'without any sound basis.'

And his 'negative perception' was linked to her race and gender and 'no credible explanation' was provided for singling her out.

In one incident, a police car was sent to her home after she reported in sick for one day and her Facebook was monitored to check the reason for her absence.

And a request by Pc Howard to move away from the unit to escape her bullying inspector was blocked by him.

At the hearing the Met agreed that the inspector behaved 'unreasonably' but said his actions were down to a lack of experience and his 'robust and overzealous management style'.

'This case shows that there needs to be a complete re-write of the Met's equality procedures and an independent investigation into existing measures purporting to deal with discrimination complaints.

'That's the only way to protect officers facing similar discrimination in the future.'

Pc Howard is now line for substantial compensation and costs after an employment tribunal upheld her claims of racial and sexual discrimination.

It said she was intimidated by the 'aggressive' inspector who 'scolded' her in front of other senior officers. He repeatedly picked on her as he monitored her Facebook account, where she posted images of herself in a bikini.

The tribunal also found that the senior officer did not face any misconduct proceedings even after an internal inquiry found he did discriminate against Pc Howard.

Commenting on the case, Daphne Romney QC said: 'What is particularly shocking is the deliberate attempt to cover up internal findings of discrimination.

'The outcome of the internal grievance investigation led PC Howard to believe that the investigating officer did not accept that there had been either race or sex discrimination, when clearly this was not the case.'

Pc Howard, who continues to serve with the Met, is one of just two black women among 700 officers in Diplomatic Protection Group.

In its judgment, the tribunal found: 'She was treated the way she was because she was black and because she was a woman.'

A 'remedy' hearing will take place this month to decide what compensation Miss Howard, who was backed by the Police Federation, should receive.

The Met Police have said they are 'disappointed' by the tribunal's findings, which they are now examining

Last night, a Met spokesman said: 'We are disappointed at the tribunal's finding in favour of Pc Howard.

'The tribunal's decision will now to be given full and careful consideration. We will review the findings, take legal advice and take forward any learning or actions as appropriate.'

The officer responsible for the bullying and 'detrimental' course of conduct was Acting Inspector Dave Kelly.

The tribunal found he and the Met 'directly discriminated' against Miss Howard 'on the grounds of sex and race' between January 31 and October 29, 2012.

It said a number of her complaints of 'victimisation' were 'well-founded.' Miss Howard, of Purley, Surrey, is now seeking compensation for injury to feelings and aggravated damages.

John Tully, of the Met Police Federation, said: 'While we are pleased that this judgment recognises that racist and sexist behaviour is unacceptable and is capable of being challenged, it is of concern that such issues are still prevalent in the Met, despite the many measures introduced to address the problem.

'Discrimination of any kind at any level is not acceptable in the police service and we must all work together to eradicate this.'

DM