LONDON METROPOLITAN Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, was left with ‘egg on the face’ after stating that she had regular meetings with StopWatch – a charitable organisation which campaigns for the fair and effective use of stop and search.
During a Home Affairs Committee last month, the commissioner responded to a cited report by StopWatch which said that young people from ethnic minorities were being “subjected to relentless searching without a demonstrable, legitimate purpose, and sometimes several times a day.”
She said: “I am very pleased to live and work in the city where there are groups who see it as their job to hold the police to account, keep an eye and campaign on certain issues and that is what StopWatch does.”
She added: “We meet with them regularly. We know each other very well, but I can’t possibly answer that question because I don’t know who they are talking about, when or where.”
While the commissioner had said she had regular meetings with Stopwatch, this admission came as news to one of its leading members, Dr Michael Shiner. “This came as a surprise to us because StopWatch has never met with Cressida and has not had a meeting with any other senior officers from the Met for at least three years.”
Upon the embarrassing revelation, the Metropolitan Police have since apologised for giving “a contrary impression” to that given by StopWatch.