Priti Patel, Home Secretary to India, read the riot law to the police chiefs today. She also called the Met cops who took and shared photos of two sisters murdered ‘abhorrent und inhumane’.
49-year-old minister was the highest ranking. He spoke at the quarterly National Police Board meeting, of which Commissioner Cressida Dick is a member.
She told the assembled police officers that they needed to ‘raise and surpass reproach’.
Mrs Patel spoke out after PCs Deniz Jaffer, 47, and Jamie Lewis, 32, admitted misconduct after pictures were taken of murdered Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, and shared with 42 colleagues.
Three more Met Police officers are currently under investigation for another photo of a deceased body from January 2020, a scene being guarded and maintained by the force.
Another trio are also facing misconduct charges over the image Ms Henry and Mrs Smallman.
The comments made by the Home Secretary are the Government’s most senior intervention to the criticism of Dame Cressida.
Yesterday, she apologized to the sisters for their murder investigation. Their moth called her handling of it’shoddy’ and told the sister to ‘get the mold out’.
MailOnline was told by a spokesperson for the Home Office that the actions of the police officers were inhumane and abhorrent.
‘Our thoughts go out to Bibaa and Nicole’s family, who have suffered so much and should never have been so badly let down by those involved.
‘The police must raise the bar and ensure their actions are beyond reproach – the public expects nothing less and while work to put things right is underway, the Home Secretary has reminded them of their responsibilities at the National Policing Board today.’
They didn’t answer a direct question about whether Mrs Patel still believed in Dame Cressida.
Priti Patel, Home Secretary during a visit in Reading to Thames Valley Police Training Centre
This morning, Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dixon was criticised by the force
Unmasked: PC Jaffer (47) was charged with misconduct at a public office in relation to the photos
After pleading guilty for misconduct in a public office, Pc Jamie Lewis leaves Old Bailey
The dossier of shame by the Met Police chief: From officers sharing photos of dead bodies to believing that a sex abuse fanatic is a force member, to officers believing that he is a sex abuser fantasist, to officers believing that he is a force member
In July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes was killed by a Tube train. He had been mistaken for a terrorist and was under surveillance. Pictured is a memorial commemorating ten years after the death of Mr de Menezes.
2014 was the year she approved Operation Midland’s creation. This disastrous investigation into child sex abuse allegations against VIPs saw innocent men pursued. Pictured is Carl Beech, a fantasist whose false sex abuse claims were believed and pursued by police
2019 was a year when Dame Cressida’s police force was widely criticised for its light-touch’ policing of Extinction Rebellion demonstrations. This caused several key areas in London to be blocked. Picture taken from Oxford Street, April 2019 when the campaigners paralysed capital.
The Met was criticized for its ‘heavy-handed policing’ of Clapham Common’s vigil to murder Sarah Everard in March. A watchdog later cleared its tactics. Pictured: Patsy Stevenson, a campaigner, being taken into custody at the event.
In June, she was charged with ‘obfuscation’ in preventing the Daniel Morgan inquiry team from accessing sensitive documents. This led to delays that cost taxpayers millions. Her force was found to be ‘institutionally corrupt,’ according to the report. Mr Morgan is shown here.
Dame Cressida also faced criticism over July’s security shambles which saw ticketless fans storm Wembley Stadium before the England-Italy Euros final. Pictured: Fans outside the venue.
She apologised last month after an IOPC report found that the level of service provided over the weekend when Bibaa, 46, and Nicole Smallman went missing, fell below standards. Their relatives and friends found their bodies before the police, who failed to properly handover the search. The two sisters are shown here.
Yesterday, Dame Cressida received instructions from the commissioner that she should carry the can to officers who took photos of the sisters who died by their grieving mothers. It led to a second apology from the commissioner. Mina Smallman
Today, it emerged that three more Met officers were under investigation over claims that photos of a deceased boy were shared. Cressida Dick, this morning.
PC Jaffer and Lewis were supposed protect the scene after the victims were found in Fryent Country Park, Wembley (north-west London) stabbed to their deaths.
Instead, they broke the cordon to take unauthorized and inappropriate photos of the bodies. These were then sent to a doctor and dentist, as well as a WhatsApp group.
Jaffer took four photos, Lewis took two, and Lewis sent one to a female colleague. The other had Lewis’s face superimposed on it.
Later, the IOPC police watchdog revealed Lewis also used sexist and degrading language to describe victims within the WhatsApp group of 42 coworkers.
Dame Cressida Dick apologised for the second consecutive time. Ms Henry and Ms Smallman were bereaved by Mina, their mother Mina, who slammed Ms Smallman for her botched investigation into the deaths of her daughters.
She said, “Her shoddy behaving and her reply since all this has come out” and added: “She hasn’t contacted us to say that I am truly sorry.” She has not spoken to this story at all.
Ms. Smallman said that the Met was beyond hope, adding that: ‘You travel to London to begin to prepare for the funeral of your deceased children. You are told by police that they took selfies and sent them out via WhatsApp to a dentist, doctor, and a doctor.
The Met stated that it was taking ‘immediate measures’ to place former PC Jaffer (who has resigned from force) and PC Lewis before accelerated misconduct hearings.
Yesterday, Met Commissioner Dick said that the two police officers’ actions caused additional distress for the victims as they grieved the loss and were grieving the loss.
“What former PC Jaffers and PC Lewis did that day was utterly disrespectful, unprofessional, and deeply insensitive. This is the view of my colleagues at the Met, who strongly condemn this behavior.
“They have pleaded guilty today for a serious criminal offense and sentencing will follow in due time.
‘I sincerely apologize to Nicole and Bibaa for their loss in June 2013. I am apologizing again today on behalf of the Met.
‘Now that the judicial process has got to this stage, we are able to take the officers through an accelerated misconduct process.’
Jaffer, 47, was taken into custody in Hornchurch, east London. Lewis, 33, was taken into custody in Colchester, Essex as part of a criminal investigation conducted by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Each of them was charged with entering a crime scene that he was assigned to protect, sending information via WhatsApp about his attendance and taking photographs of it.
Mina Smallman (the mother of the sisters) sat in court during the hearing, and she has called the officers ‘despicable’.
Paul Goddard, CPS spokesperson, stated outside court: “Pc Jamie Lewis’ and Pc Deniz Jaffer’s senseless conduct was way below what is to be expected of police officers.
These officers were given the task of protecting a tragic crime scene.
“But they instead violated it for themselves, without regard to the dignity and the harm they might cause to a murder investigation.
“Their insensitive and thoughtless actions have no doubt caused immeasurable distress and pain to Nicole Smallman’s and Bibaa Henry’s heartbroken families and friends, who are already reeling from the loss and grief of their loved ones. We are thinking of them.
Both were attached to the Met’s North East command center unit and were both removed from duty after their arrests June 22nd last year.
Jaffer, from Hornchurch, east London and Lewis, Colchester, Essex are both on unconditional bail
On Thursday the mother of Ms Henry and Ms Smallman vowed to stop their killer ever being released from prison.
Mina Smallman said justice had been done for her ‘beautiful girls’ as their ‘deluded’ killer was locked up for at least 35 years.
Mrs Smallman looked on as Danyalhussein sat behind the court, while he was sent to Belmarsh prison via videolink.
Mrs Smallman condemned the 19 years old, who had stabbed her daughters and made a pact to a devil after she spoke outside the Old Bailey in central London.
She said that he was acting out in court because it was a performance. He is fine. He is just an obnoxious person.
She continued: “He is a broken human being, who, if not he was caught, four other families might have been suffering the same as we are.”
“Well, he’s not out there now, and I think that he is so deluded they will not let his out in 35 years.”
“I will not permit them.”
Mrs Smallman continued: “There will not be any celebrations here, but justice has been done.”
After hearing that Hussein had been convicted of a youth crime, she demanded a review of the law.
She praised Hussein’s arrest by the Metropolitan Police, but said she didn’t ‘cast a whole organization by one type of incident’.
In the wake of a critical report by the police watchdog on the handling of the missing sisters’ report, she stated that there was an “underground” that had infiltrated and was growing in the Metropolitan Police.
Artist impression of PC Jamie Lewis (left) and PC Deniz Jaffer (right) appearing at the Old Bailey yesterday
Nicole Smallman, 27 and Bibaa Yergin, 46, were stabbed in Wembley last summer.
Murderer: Danyal Hussein, 19, who killed sisters Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, seen here in his police mugshot
The boyfriend of Ms Smallman found the sisters (above), after they had celebrated Ms Henry’s Birthday with friends.
Mina Smallman was the mother of the two victims and she watched as Danyal Hussein appeared in the Old Bailey dock. There he tried to intimidate and provoke Mina. She refused to smile and wink back
She also thanked media for following the case and stated that “Everybody’s worth knowing.”
She spoke highly of her daughters, saying: “They were beautiful, beautiful little girls.”
Bibaa left behind a beautiful daughter, who gave birth to a boy in the last year. I am a great grandma.
She said that Ms Henry was an ‘amazing” social worker, but she was more grieved for Ms Smallman’s younger daughter, Ms Smallman, because’she had twenty years less than Bibaa.
She said: “Good girls – I’m really proud.