BBC Panorama’s undercover Met Police exposé is a chilling indictment of the abuse of power and deeply-ingrained anti-Muslim prejudices within London’s police force, writes Muhammad Siddeeq.
In a broadcast that will leave viewers stunned and many British Muslims vindicated, the latest Panorama documentary tears away the façade of reform within the Metropolitan Police and exposes a culture of racism, extreme Islamophobia, and unchecked aggression festering behind closed custody doors.
Undercover In The Police is more than a documentary – it’s a wake-up call for not only Britain’s largest police force, but also for British Muslims who are often asked to place their trust and cooperation in a system that offers little evidence it deserves either.
For serving police officers to speak openly about Islam and the Muslims in such derogatory and offensive terms is deeply disturbing. The irony of the shocking revelations, however, could not be more stark – as all of this is happening in a city with a Muslim mayor and a country with a Muslim home secretary.
A culture of contempt
Armed with a body-worn camera and a false identity, BBC journalist Rory Bibb spent seven months embedded as a civilian detention officer at the notorious Charing Cross police station – a site already tainted by past scandals.
What he captured is shocking: officers mocking rape victims, boasting about violence against detainees, and, most damningly, expressing virulent prejudice – particularly toward Muslims and immigrants.
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What sets this documentary apart is its directness. No dramatic narration. No blurred reconstructions. Just raw footage of Metropolitan Police officers, in and out of uniform, revealing their true beliefs when they think no one is watching.
In one particularly vile moment, PC Phil Neilson, filmed off duty in a pub, refers to an immigrant who overstayed his visa: “Either put a bullet through his head or deport him.”
Later in the same conversation, when the officer is asked what he thinks of Muslims, Neilson broadens his disdain: “Algerians and Somalians are scum.. I’ve seen too many Islamics [sic] committing crimes. Their way of life is not the correct way of life.”
In an effort to justify his comments, he goes on to add: “You do find that the ones that are causing the most crime are Muslim.”
Another officer in the secretly filmed video, PC Martin Borg, offers no dissent – in fact, he contributes: “Muslims hate us. They f***ing hate us. Proper hate us… Islam is a problem. A serious problem, I think.”
What will be particularly worrying for the four million or so British Muslims is that these are not offhand slips or heat-of-the-moment remarks. They are ideologically-loaded statements, delivered casually, and met with laughter or agreement by others in uniform.
They expose not only examples of individual prejudice but a broader culture where such views can be aired without fear or shame – and where silence from peers and complicity from line-managers seem to be the norm.
Not just talk
Inside the custody suite, the crude disdain towards Muslims and immigrants continues.
Officers joke about denying halal food to Muslim detainees, mock a detainee asking for a prayer mat, and imitate Arabic speech in exaggerated tones.
Requests for religious accommodation are ignored or treated as a punchline. In one case, officers discuss how “funny” it would be to raid a mosque during Friday prayers.
This is not simply “banter” – it is the erosion of dignity in one of the most vulnerable spaces in the justice system.
These same officers will be dealing with not only the massive rise in reports of anti-Muslim hate crimes, but also with public events like the marches in London against the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
The fact that some of these same officers have been the first point of contact for Muslim arrestees in London should deeply concern anyone who believes in the right to fair and equal treatment before the law.
Repercussions beyond the walls
The timing of the documentary is crucial. The Met has already weathered a series of crises in public trust – from the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer to multiple scandals involving racist, misogynistic, and homophobic WhatsApp groups.
The force has promised cultural reform. Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has called for the rebuilding of legitimacy.
But Undercover In The Police reveals that deep-rooted anti-Muslim prejudice is still alive in the ranks. And nowhere will the damage cut deeper than in London’s Muslim communities, many of which already experience daily policing that is seen as heavy-handed, discriminatory, and often hostile.
This documentary confirms long-held fears: that anti-Muslim bias isn’t just a fringe issue – it is present inside custody suites, shaping how individuals are treated, spoken to, and ultimately judged.
For Londoners who wear hijabs, speak Arabic, or simply have Muslim-sounding names, this film may not be surprising – but it is a devastating confirmation that the system is still stacked against them.
Institutional failure
The Metropolitan police has responded to the documentary with predictable urgency: multiple officers suspended, one sergeant arrested, and the entire custody team at Charing Cross reportedly disbanded.
But this raises a harder question – why did it take an undercover journalist, rather than internal oversight, to reveal the vile Islamophobia and mistreatment of Muslim and immigrant detainees?
Many of the officers caught on tape had previously been investigated for misconduct. Some had received internal warnings. Yet they remained in their jobs, protected by a culture of silence that prioritised loyalty over accountability.
Uncomfortable viewing
Undercover In The Police is an uncomfortable hour of television – and essential viewing for exactly that reason.
It delivers no easy answers, but instead asks the hardest questions: Who is policing the police? What damage has already been done? And how can a force claim legitimacy when it harbours such contempt for the people it serves?
It is public service journalism at its most necessary – exposing not just individual prejudice, but the institutional rot Britain’s largest police force. And for London’s Muslim communities – already over-policed and under-protected – it may serve as a bitter validation of what many Muslims have said for years: the Met’s problems are not just a matter of bad apples, rather, they are a matter of bad soil.
You can watch Undercover In The Police here. Parental discretion is advised as the documentary comes with a warning about very strong language.
