MET OFFICER CHARGED OVER CHARING CROSS MISCONDUCT PROBE

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that Sergeant Sadiq Al-Hasani has been charged with perverting the course of justice, becoming the first person charged as a result of a BBC Panorama investigation into conduct at Charing Cross police station. Al-Hasani, who was attached to the Central West Command Unit, was charged on 13 August over an incident on 2 October 2025. The Independent Office for Police Conduct said he allegedly approached a junior officer, a potential key witness in the wider investigation, intending to obstruct or interfere with the probe. The Met said the charge relates to an allegation that Al-Hasani deliberately sought to discourage that officer from making a statement to the IOPC. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and remains suspended from duty, according to the Met.

The IOPC opened its investigation following a mandatory conduct referral from the Met on 3 October 2025, after Panorama – Undercover in the Police was broadcast on 1 October 2025. For the programme, a BBC journalist worked undercover in the Charing Cross custody suite and secretly filmed officers making racist comments and describing violence used against suspects. As part of its inquiry, the IOPC reviewed footage gathered for the programme that was not broadcast. The watchdog concluded its investigation in June, at which point it referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service.

According to the IOPC, 15 officers have been found to have committed gross misconduct as a result of the wider investigation, and all but one of them, a former police constable, have been barred from policing. The IOPC said investigations continue into the conduct of a further 14 officers or police staff. Al-Hasani's court appearance on Wednesday will be the first step in proceedings against him.