Bermuda Post

Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

Scotland Yard's Senior-Most Indian Origin Officer Speaks Out Against Racism

Scotland Yard's Senior-Most Indian Origin Officer Speaks Out Against Racism

Neil Basu, in his last interview at the end of a 30-year career, has spoken about his concerns around racism within UK police ranks and Home Office
Neil Basu, the senior-most Indian-origin Scotland Yard officer and the United Kingdom's former counter-terrorism chief, who, at one point, was even tipped for the top job as the head of the UK's largest police force, has spoken out against racism and revealed how he faced racist attacks as a schoolboy in the 1970s.

In his final interview at the end of a 30-year policing career with the Metropolitan Police, outgoing Assistant Commissioner Mr Basu told 'Channel 4 News' about his concerns around racism within the police ranks and its overseeing authority - the Home Office.

The son of a Bengali doctor father from Kolkata and Welsh mother, Mr Basu was born and brought up in the UK and has been with the Met Police through some of its most high-profile counter-terrorism operations.

"I've been the only non-white face as a chief officer for a very long time. I don't think the Home Office cares about this subject at all," Mr Basu told 'Channel 4 News' today.

When pointed out that the Home Office is run by a woman of Indian heritage, Suella Braverman, Mr Basu said he found some of the commentary coming out of the department, including around plans to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda, as "inexplicable".

"It is unbelievable to hear a succession of very powerful politicians who look like this, talking in language that my father would have remembered from 1968, it's horrific," he said, with reference to the racism his mixed-race couple parents faced in England when he was a child.

"A mixed-race couple walking through the streets in the 1960s, stoned ... I was beaten in the 1970s for being a mixed-race kid in an all-white school in an all-white area. I speak about race because I know something about race because I am a 54-year-old mixed-race man ... this is an under-represented issue," he said.

The UK Home Office said in a statement: "The Home Secretary expects forces to take a zero tolerance approach to racism within their workplace.

"But she is also very clear about the need to manage our borders effectively and have an asylum system that works for those in genuine need, as are the British people."

Mr Basu, as Assistant Commissioner, has also been in charge of the security for high-profile public figures, including the British royal family, and revealed how Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, faced many "disgusting and very real" threats as the wife of Prince Harry in the UK.

"If you'd seen the stuff that was written and you were receiving it, the kind of rhetoric that's online, if you don't know what I know, you would feel under threat all of the time," he said.

When asked if there had been genuine threats to the Duchess from the far-right, he added: "Absolutely. We had teams investigating it. People have been prosecuted for those threats."

The royal couple have since stepped back from frontline royalty and relocated to the United States with their two children and Prince Harry has spoken about the security concerns for his family in the UK.

Mr Basu said he has spoken publicly about the threat of "extreme right-wing terrorism" in the country because it is the "fastest growing" threat that he dealt with as a counter-terrorism officer.

"When I started in counter-terrorism in 2015, it was about 6 per cent of our total workload. When I left 15, 16 months ago, it was over 20 per cent of our workload," he revealed.

The police officer, who is stepping down after 30 years with the Met, spoke of the "profound mental and physical effect" his work had, but felt pride in overseeing 29 terrorist plots being foiled. He also admitted the force was "in crisis" following recent damaging revelations around corrupt and criminal Met Police officers, but said the newCommissioner, Mark Rowley, was cracking down on the issue.

On being turned down for some of the top crime-fighting jobs, including most recently as head of the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), Mr Basu said: "I would surmise that it is because I have been outspoken about issues that do not fit with the current political administration. They are wrong, diversity and inclusion are two of the most important things for policing."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
'I just lost it' Lowe’s worker fired after 13 years of employment for confronting thieves trying to steal $2K of merchandise
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
×