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Victim accused of sending racist material to himself

Murali Krishnan in London

A Sikh police sergeant who said he had received racist hate mail through the Metropolitan Police internal post system was arrested after his superiors claimed he had sent the material himself.

Gurpal Virdi has been suspended for 10 weeks while a criminal investigation is being carried out into allegations that he distributed racist material and attempted to pervert the course of justice.

The case, which has received national attention, has astonished other ethnic minority officers who have for long been complaining that institutionalised racism exists in the police ranks of England. Furthermore, the case comes close on the heels of Home Office evidence to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, stating that all police officers be given training in race relations.

A police officer for 16 years, Virdi, opened his mail just before Christmas to see an unwanted poster. A computer-generated image of a black man was accompanied by the message 'Keep the Police Service White.'

Similar material was sent to non-white officers based at Ealing police station, west London. Black and Asian civilian workers at neighbouring stations received a month later, more racist material.

Suspicion first fell on a white female officer who was informally interviewed, but no action was taken. Then in May, as Sergeant Virdi was taking his children to the dentist, he realised that he was being tailed.

Sathat, his wife, said: "He called me to come and collect the kids because he did not want them involved in any unpleasant scenes. Then he called his superiors."

Virdi was told that he was "paranoid" but when he went out to confront his pursuers, he was told they were from the Metropolitan Police Complaints Unit and that he was being arrested.

Officers carried out an eight-hour search of his house, confiscating his child's computer, his diary and press cuttings his wife had carefully collected relating to the Stephen Lawrence enquiry.

A story, which appeared in the Daily Mail, said an unnamed Asian police officer had been arrested for mounting a race hate campaign. Sir Paul Condon, metropolitan commissioner, was furious about the campaign and noted that "the officer's arrest will come as a shock to anti-racism campaigners who claim that the police service is riddled with white bigots."

Investigations have so far revealed that the hate mail was sent as a precursor to a claim against the police for racial discrimination.

Just last week, Sathat said her husband vehemently denied having anything to do with the material and was still in a state of shock over his arrest. She denied allegations that Virdi was suing for discrimination and had not intended to retire for another 14 years.

Though Virdi was not planning a discrimination action, he has lodged claims over the way matters were being handled. His submission alleges that senior Met officers failed to register as a "racially motivated crime" a serious stabbing incident of two Asian youths by white attackers in March. Virdi, the arresting officer, was adamant that race was a factor but claims his views were ignored.

Virdi also claimed that his requests for police visits to a largely Asian school, as a school governor, were treated less favourably than requests for similar visits to mainly white schools.

Forensic tests are being carried out in relation to the distribution of the hate mail and Virdi will be interviewed in September. In the meantime, he remains suspended.

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