A police officer has been forced into resigning after he gave a Muslim colleague a pack of bacon and a bottle of wine as a joke present during a Christmas Day party.
Pc Rob Murrie gave the gift to his colleague as part of a “Secret Santa” at Luton station, though the consumption of alcohol and bacon is forbidden under Islam.
However, even though the Muslim officer did not complain and thought the present funny, senior officers in the Bedfordshire force were not amused. They declared that “behaviour of this nature is not tolerated” and welcomed Pc Murrie’s resignation.
The 26-year-old officer said he had “no choice but to resign” - after six years in the force - given the current politically correct climate in policing.
However, the recipient of the present, 31-year-old Pc Arshad Mahmood, said that while he considered the pack of bacon “a bit below the belt”, he still regarded Pc Murrie as “a good officer and a good friend”.
According to Pc Mahmood, who joined the force in September 2005, about 18 of his colleagues had decided to join in the Secret Santa - with each member of a group given the name of another to supply with an anonymous gift.
“We opened our presents in the canteen at breakfast time on Christmas Day. The gifts were chosen depending on the person’s personality, and cost about £10.”
One officer received a bus pass and a timetable because he lived so close to the police station that he did not need a car. Others received “boring” presents, Pc Mahmood said.
“When I pulled my present out, I did not realise that I had been given a bottle of wine,” added PC Mahmood, who is married with a married with a child.
“Everyone was joking but I thought the packet of bacon was a bit below the belt. Judging from the reaction of everyone else, they thought it was a bit below the belt as well.”
However, Pc Mahmood believes it was “not meant in a malicious way, just a bit of banter”. He told a sergeant, who was “really disgusted”, that he knew it was meant as a joke and did not want to make a formal complaint.
“I just took it on the chin. But someone else in the room must have thought it was a racist incident, and reported it,” the officer said.
Pc Murrie, whose family said he had gone abroad, said: “I had no choice but to resign because of the political implications and negative impact on the force if it ever became public.
“I would never have given him the present if I had known the consequences...I think society has gone far too politically correct, but the force has to make decisions acting within that climate.”
Shishu Miah, general secretary of the Bedford Jame Mosque, said: “I do not condone what he did but the officer clearly made an error of judgment and should be forgiven.”
However, Mobeen Qureshi, the secretary and co-ordinator of Khidmat, the Luton Asian community group, said: “It is not acceptable to be given this (wine and bacon). A true Muslim wouldn’t touch them and I would be very offended and angry if I was given them.”
Bedfordshire Police said: “Although this matter was intended as a joke between officers, Bedfordshire Police takes seriously its obligations as an organisation which not only serves, but employs, a diverse range of staff from the county’s wide mix of backgrounds.
“Behaviour of this nature is not tolerated by Bedfordshire Police and after the incident was brought to the attention of senior managers, the officer concerned chose to resign with immediate effect. His decision is welcomed by the force.”