Six former Metropolitan Police officers have received suspended prison sentences for sending racist, sexist, and homophobic messages on WhatsApp.

The officers received sentences ranged from 6 to 14 weeks of imprisonment, all suspended for 12 months, along with unpaid work. They were all now retired, but had served in the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection command. One had also worked as a Border Force officer.

The racist messages were exchanged between 2020 and 2022 were exposed by a BBC Newsnight investigation. References were made to public figures such as the Duchess of Sussex and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Sentencing the officers, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram said that the officers had damaged public confidence in the police, which was an aggravating factor.

Adeniyi Ogunleye, senior crown prosecutor at the CPS, expressed dismay, stating, “It is shocking that six retired police officers, who dedicated their careers to upholding the law, could find it acceptable to send such grossly offensive messages.”