Exclusive: external consultancy report found discrimination ‘baked into HR systems’ at London force
A review of anti-Black racism within the Metropolitan police has been “buried” by the force, despite finding discrimination “baked into its HR systems”, the Guardian can reveal.
The internal review, commissioned by the Met from the consultancy HR Rewired, concluded that bias, racial stereotyping and inequity were woven through the force’s recruitment, promotion and grievance processes, affecting Black staff specifically.
The review’s report, 30 Patterns of Harm: a Structural Review of Systemic Racism within the London Metropolitan Police Service, warned that the Met’s ambition to become an “anti-racist organisation” was being undermined by its own internal culture.
The review found that performance systems rewarded familiarity over fairness, with Black staff given coded feedback such as “not quite ready” or “be a bit friendlier” and penalised for naming racism, seen as a “reputational risk”.
