Scotland Yard faces a “disastrous” future where it will be powerless to sack around 300 so-called bad apples if it loses a judicial review being brought by an officer accused of rape, the force has warned.
Sergeant Lino Di Maria is challenging Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s “unlawful” decision to strip him of his warrant card for failing vetting in the wake of a slew of scandals, including Sarah Everard’s murder by PC Wayne Couzens.
But Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor believes the Met has acted in an “entirely lawful” way, using powers that already existed in legislation and are backed by the College of Policing.
As well as Sgt Di Maria, among 107 others dismissed under Operation Assure so far include an officer arrested in the United States for trying groom a 13-year-old girl and PC Terry Malka who kept his job despite being convicted of performing a solo sex act in a First Class train carriage in 2018.
AC Taylor told reporters a legal victory for Sgt Di Maria might see “our hands tied” in a “hopeless position” and staff “with really worrying” pasts reinstated, then awarded thousands in back pay.
He said: “Our view is that is entirely unacceptable.
“The public would be horrified, I think, that those individuals are continuing to police London and deal with vulnerable victims and others.
“A lot of the victims here are our own people. They don’t want to work alongside them.
“That would be disastrous, in my view, for the Met.
“It would put us in a hopeless position having to keep police officers we don’t feel deserve or should hold the rank of constable.”
Sgt Di Maria was dismissed after Sir Mark launched Op Assure which pinpointed hundreds of serving officers and staff when concerns were raised about their conduct.
Wayne Couzens (Metropolitan Police/PA) (PA Media)
The force then dug deep into their full history, unearthing allegations of domestic and sexual violence, including those that were never proved in court or a gross misconduct hearing.
Sgt Di Maria – backed by the Met Police Federation in bringing the High Court case – claims his right to a fair and public trial under Article 6 of the Human Rights Act had been breached when “no case to answer” claims of rape and abusing an ex-partner were used to remove his vetting in September 2023.
As part of a legal challenge described as a “test case”, his barrister Kevin Baumber said the process in which officers can be dismissed in this way is unlawful.
The hearing before Mrs Justice Lang concluded on Thursday with a decision in writing at a later date.
When asked about worst case scenarios if Sgt Di Maria wins, AC Taylor added: “Yes, in theory if we are unsuccessful and the decisions are overturned, the people who have been dismissed could return and are entitled to back pay and everything else.”
Sgt Di Maria joined the police in 2004, passed his last vetting clearance in 2017 and remains in the force, according to written court submissions on behalf of the Yard.
A public complaint was made on August 12, 2019 accusing him of two sexual assaults and rapes in cars in public car parks on December 3 and 9, 2018.
There was also a rape and indecent exposure claim in 2015, an allegation of sending inappropriate messages to colleagues in 2019 and alleged inappropriate behaviour at work two years later.
An ex-partner made further accusations of domestic abuse in 2022, said John Beggs KC, for the Met.
A review by Baroness Casey found the Met to be institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic after 33-year-old Ms Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Couzens in March 2021.
Campaigners after murder of Sarah Everard (BBC Studios)
Lady Elish Angiolini discovered a series of red flags were missed about Couzens who should never have been given a job with a history of offending dating back nearly 20 years.
Commander James Harman, who leads the Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, added many of the officers already identified under Assure wouldn’t pass vetting standards to join the Met today or transfer to a neighbouring force.
He said: “We have seen in catastrophic cases where we’re often accused of having failed to join the dots on an officer’s conduct. This is what joining the dots looks like.
“I think the public would find it odd, and we find it unacceptable, that those officers can continue in the Met with that background.”
Cmdr Harman revealed another officer dealt with by his unit received multiple rape and sexual assault allegations from different women between 2011 to 2023 but none were prosecuted.
After he had his vetting removed, victims got the confidence to come forward. A new criminal investigation was launched and the officer charged, however, he died in circumstances Cmdr Harman did not reveal.
A policeman accused of domestic abuse, including the rape of an ex-partner, was found to have sexually assaulted colleagues in the workplace. A review discovered he’d already been reduced in rank for misusing his warrant card and should have been sacked.
And third officer was fired or maintaining a relationship with a criminal despite warnings.
AC Taylor said since Casey and Angiolini “a massive” effort had been put into repairing Londoners’ trust and achieving higher standards which could be “undermined” by Sgt Di Maria’s judicial review, if successful.
“This is all being done in a proportionate and appropriate way,” he added.
“It’s about patterns of behaviour not one-off matters. We mustn’t lose sight of the fact that there are tens of thousands of officers who are really good, who come to work to do a really good job for communities in London every day.
“These are officers the public can’t trust and nor can we.”
It is not immediately clear if Sgt Di Maria’s case might be used by highly decorated former superintendent Novlett Robyn Williams, who fought a long battle to be reinstated after being convicted of possessing a child abuse video. She resigned last April “traumatised” by her legal ordeal.
The Met Police Federation said its “good, brave and hard-working” members “are the first to say that the very, very small minority not fit to wear the uniform should not be in the service”.
But a spokesman added: “Police officers – like all people – need to be treated within the law of the land and they have the right to representation and a fair process.
“We now await the outcome.”