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TV personality Katie Price has said she is “shocked and upset” about “disgusting” comments made about her disabled son in a WhatsApp group which contained Metropolitan Police officers.
The former glamour model was speaking after a misconduct hearing was told officers in the South East Command Unit posted comments that were allegedly sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic and “applauded sexual violence against women”.
Eight serving and former officers face the gross misconduct hearing after allegedly being part of the WhatsApp group, entitled “Secret Squirrel S***”, between May 2016 and June 2018.
After seeing the remarks, Price told ITV News on Tuesday: “I’ve got some comments here and some are just too shocking to say.
“There’s one here which has a horrible swear word in, it says: ‘For a [swear word], he can’t see and can’t find his way to the fridge and a biscuit jar with little difficulty.’ That’s mocking Harvey again for him being born blind.”
She described another “disgusting” message referencing Harvey, who has Prader-Willi syndrome and autism.
Price, 44, added: “It’s shocking, it’s shocking, and it upsets me. It really does upset me but I have to be strong because I’ve got five children and the other four will read and know about this and I have to be strong for Harvey.
“What I’m shocked about is we look up to police officers to protect us and I teach my kids to say that police will protect you.
“I do respect a lot of police out there [they] really, really do – they do an amazing job, but to be let down by people like this.”
The hearing is due to conclude on Friday and Price said she wants an apology from the force and Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley once it has concluded.
Former Sergeant Luke Thomas, former acting Sergeant Luke Allen, former PC Kelsey Buchan, former PC Carlo Francisco, former PC Lee South, former PC Darren Jenner, PC Glynn Rees and Officer B, who has been granted anonymity, faced the first day of their gross misconduct hearing at Empress State Building in Fulham, west London, on Tuesday.
A letter sent by police to Katie Price. Pic: Instagram
The eight officers are subject to three allegations of gross misconduct and are also alleged to have breached standards of professional behaviour in relation to equality and diversity, authority, respect and courtesy, challenging and reporting improper conduct and discreditable conduct.
The first allegation concerns comments and posts made by officers in the WhatsApp group, the second relates to comments about a female colleague, Officer A, and the third is in relation to the officers failing to report the content.
Thomas, Allen and South admitted gross misconduct for all allegations.
Thomas made several posts about Price’s son Harvey.
Read more:
Met Police officers allegedly sent ‘inappropriate images’ of Katie Price’s son via WhatsApp group
Met Police condemn ‘sickening’ child sexual offences by serving officer
Francisco admits gross misconduct for the first allegation and misconduct for the other two.
Rees and Buchan admit misconduct for all allegations.
Officer B denies the first allegation and admits misconduct for the second and third allegations.
Jenner has not engaged with the misconduct hearing and the police have taken that to mean he does not admit either misconduct or gross misconduct.
Price shared an image of a letter detailing the misconduct on her Instagram story on Friday.
In the letter, which was addressed to Price and dated 26 January, an investigator from the Discrimination Investigation Unit within the Professional Standards Department of the Met Police informed her that “a number of Metropolitan Police officers are alleged to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in regards to Discreditable Conduct for being part of a WhatsApp group chat that has posted inappropriate and derogatory images of your son, Harvey Price”.
