When a hidden camera entered Charing Cross police station, it found not isolated wrongdoing but a culture — officers joking about rape, boasting of violence, calling for immigrants to be shot. Now, more than a year on from that October 2025 broadcast, the Metropolitan Police has dismissed its thirteenth officer, PC Mason O'Connor, for telling a female colleague he hoped she would be raped on her way home. The reckoning is slow, deliberate, and still unfinished — fifteen more cases remain open — and the deeper question it poses is whether institutional exposure can become institutional change.
Thirteenth Met Police officer dismissed over Charing Cross misconduct
Female colleague subjected to threat of sexual violence by officer in position of authority.
One of the IOPC's largest ever investigations in terms of officer numbers
Mark
Why does one officer's dismissal warrant a story when thirteen have already been sacked?
Mimi
Because it shows the investigation is still moving. O'Connor is the thirteenth, but the IOPC is investigating fifteen more. This isn't over.
Luke
But we should be clear: the Panorama broadcast was in October 2025. We're now in September 2026. That's eleven months. How many of those thirteen dismissals happened in the first month versus spread across the year?
Mark
What exactly did O'Connor do that crossed the line?
Mimi
He told a female colleague at a pub that he hoped she would be raped on her way home. It was off-duty, but he was still a police officer speaking to someone he worked with.
Luke
The source says he was "reported to a proactive wider investigation" after the broadcast. So the Panorama team didn't film him—he was caught up in the wider sweep. That's different from being exposed on camera like some of the others.
Mark
What were the other officers actually caught doing on film?
Mimi
Calling for immigrants to be shot. Boasting about excessive force. Joking about rape and sexual assault. It was systematic, not isolated incidents.
Luke
The source says "other officers who were covertly filmed." We don't have exact numbers on how many were actually filmed versus how many were investigated afterward. That matters for understanding the scale.
Mark
Is this the end of it?
Mimi
No. The IOPC says it's still investigating fifteen more officers or staff. And two former officers have already been found to have committed gross misconduct.
Luke
"Still investigating" could mean weeks or months. We don't know the timeline. And "former officers"—were they already retired, or did they resign before discipline could be imposed?
Le Pouls
- A female officer was told by a colleague in a position of authority that he hoped she would be raped walking home — a threat that has now cost him his badge.
- The BBC Panorama broadcast shattered the public image of Charing Cross station, revealing officers on camera celebrating violence, mocking sexual assault, and calling for immigrants to be shot.
- What followed became one of the largest disciplinary investigations the IOPC has ever undertaken, with the sheer volume of fast-tracked hearings signalling that normal institutional inertia was, at least temporarily, suspended.
- Thirteen officers have now been sacked, two more found guilty of gross misconduct, and fifteen additional cases are still live — the full picture has yet to fully emerge.
- The Met's leadership is framing each dismissal as proof of cultural reform, but the force still faces the harder question of whether these firings represent genuine transformation or managed reputation recovery.
When a hidden camera entered Charing Cross police station, it found not isolated wrongdoing but a culture — officers joking about rape, boasting of violence, calling for immigrants to be shot. Now, more than a year on from that October 2025 broadcast, the Metropolitan Police has dismissed its thirteenth officer, PC Mason O'Connor, for telling a female colleague he hoped she would be raped on her way home. The reckoning is slow, deliberate, and still unfinished — fifteen more cases remain open — and the deeper question it poses is whether institutional exposure can become institutional change.
The Metropolitan Police has dismissed PC Mason O'Connor — its thirteenth officer sacked in the wake of BBC Panorama's undercover investigation into Charing Cross station. A disciplinary hearing found that O'Connor, while off-duty at a pub, told a female colleague he hoped she would be raped on her way home. The panel ruled he had breached standards of authority, respect, equality, and professional conduct.
The Panorama documentary, broadcast in October 2025, captured officers on camera calling for immigrants to be shot, boasting about using excessive force, and making jokes about rape and sexual assault. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley condemned the behaviour as totally unacceptable, and the broadcast triggered what the Independent Office for Police Conduct described as one of its largest ever investigations by officer numbers.
O'Connor's dismissal followed that of PC Lloyd Hunter, fired after unaired footage showed him saying he enjoyed using Tasers on people and that he hated homeless individuals. Met Commander Simon Messinger described both men's comments and attitudes as appalling, and framed the ongoing dismissals as evidence of the force's commitment to cultural change.
Beyond the thirteen sackings, two former officers have been found to have committed gross misconduct, and fifteen more cases remain under active investigation. The IOPC's Amanda Rowe noted that the pace and volume of proceedings reflected how seriously the matter was being treated. Whether that seriousness translates into lasting reform — or merely a period of accelerated accountability — remains the question the Metropolitan Police has yet to fully answer.
The Metropolitan Police has dismissed another officer in the fallout from an undercover investigation that exposed a culture of extreme misconduct at one of London's busiest stations. PC Mason O'Connor was fired after a disciplinary hearing found he had violated professional standards by making a threat of sexual violence to a female colleague while off-duty at a pub. He told her he hoped she would be raped on her way home. The hearing determined he had breached standards governing authority, respect and courtesy, equality and diversity, and discreditable conduct.
O'Connor is the thirteenth officer to be sacked since BBC Panorama broadcast its investigation into Charing Cross station in October 2025. The documentary revealed officers on camera calling for immigrants to be shot, bragging about using excessive force against suspects, and making jokes about rape and sexual assault. Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said at the time the behaviour was "totally unacceptable." The scale of the problem became clear only after the broadcast prompted what the Independent Office for Police Conduct described as one of its largest ever investigations in terms of officer numbers.
Beyond the thirteen dismissals, two former officers have been found by the IOPC to have committed gross misconduct. The watchdog is still investigating fifteen additional officers or police staff members. Amanda Rowe, speaking for the IOPC, noted that the sheer volume of fast-tracked disciplinary proceedings reflected how seriously both the watchdog and the Met were treating the matter. The speed of the hearings and dismissals signalled a departure from the force's historical approach to internal discipline.
O'Connor's dismissal came weeks after PC Lloyd Hunter was also fired. Unaired Panorama footage shared with investigators showed Hunter saying he enjoyed using Tasers on people and that he hated homeless individuals. Met Commander Simon Messinger said both men had been dismissed for their "appalling comments and attitudes," and promised the force would continue supporting the IOPC investigation. He framed the dismissals as evidence of the Met's commitment to changing its culture, saying he hoped the message would be clear to all officers about the standards expected of them.
The investigation has become a test of whether institutional change can follow exposure. The Met faces the challenge of demonstrating that the conduct revealed at Charing Cross was aberrant rather than symptomatic, and that dismissals represent genuine reform rather than damage control. With fifteen more cases still under investigation, the full scope of what the Panorama team uncovered remains incomplete.
Citations marquantes
This is one of our largest ever investigations in terms of the number of officers investigated— Amanda Rowe, Independent Office for Police Conduct
I hope this sends a very clear message about the standards we expect from all our officers and the Met's determination to improve our culture across the organisation— Met Commander Simon Messinger
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Crime & Justice