Scotland Yard says its top Muslim officer is suing
The Associated Press
Saturday, August 23, 2008
LONDON: Scotland Yard said Friday that its highest ranking Muslim police officer is suing the force, reportedly claiming religious and racial discrimination.
Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, the man charged with handling London’s 2012 Olympic security preparations, is suing his employers for 1.2 million pounds (US$2.2 million) on racial and religious grounds, according to the British Broadcasting Corp., which did not cite a source for its report.
A spokesman for London’s Metropolitan Police said he understood that Ghaffur had initiated legal proceedings at an employment tribunal, but said the force had not yet been served with legal papers and could offer no further comment. He spoke anonymously in line with police policy.
Ghaffur, born in Uganda to parents of Pakistani descent, joined Manchester’s police force in 1974. He switched to the Metropolitan Police in 1999 and rose to assistant commissioner — the force’s third-highest position — in 2001. Ghaffur has used the high-visibility post to speak out against racism among police, warning in 2006 that some officers were alienating minorities by stereotyping them as criminals.
Scotland Yard handles some of the country’s most sensitive terrorism cases but has in the past had an openly contentious relationship with its minority employees. In 2001 the force suspended Iranian-born Ali Dizaei, accusing him of obstructing justice and faking expenses. Dizaei was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, but the fallout from the case was so toxic that, in 2003, the head of a major black officers’ group urged nonwhite candidates against applying for jobs with London’s police because discrimination was so pervasive.
A contact number for Ghaffur could not immediately be located.
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