Police ‘should be punished for covering up ID’

Boris Johnson's deputy mayor Kit Malthouse called for those who fail to wear their shoulder numbers to face disciplinary action as the Standard revealed a constable with his identity number concealed.

The officer, a constable trained in first aid, was directly defying Sir Paul's order that they should be worn at all times after riot police at the G20 protests hid their badges.

Scotland Yard said it was trying to track down
the officer seen in Parliament Square last night by an Evening Standard photographer. He refused repeated requests to identify himself and only co-operated after a sergeant intervened. His superiors are now likely to be questioned over their conduct as well.

Mr Malthouse said: "The policy of the Met Police is very clear. The public have the right to be able to identify any uniformed police officer and so badges should be worn at all times. We support the Commissioner's decision to hold officers to account when they purposely conceal their identity."

The Home Office also criticised officers who fail to wear their epaulettes, insisting the "public has a right to be able to identify" them.

A Home Office spokesman said: "We welcome the Commissioner's statement that all uniformed police officers should be identifiable at all times by their shoulder identification numbers, and wholly agree that the public has a right to be able to identify any uniformed officers while performing their duties."

A Yard spokesman said: "Where provided, epaulettes with identifying letters and numerals or insignia of rank must be worn and must be correct and visible at all times.

"It is the responsibility of all police officers, and their supervisors, to ensure this policy is followed."

But there was no statement from the commissioner, who is now facing a mounting crisis over his leadership.

A member of the Metropolitan Police Authority said the problem of officers failing to wear their shoulder numbers had been going on "for some time" and "serious questions" will be raised over the issue.

Cindy Butts said: "I see no good reason why they should obscure their numbers from members of the public.

"We have pushed for the Met to have officers wear their names on their uniforms so at the very least they should be wearing the shoulder numbers."

She added: "This has been an issue that's been going on for some time. The Met need to explain why this is happening and I certainly will be putting those questions to them."

Today there were calls for the officer's immediate suspension and more questions over Sir Paul's leadership of the force, already engulfed in crisis since the death of Ian Tomlinson, 47, who had a heart attack during the G20 riots after being pushed and struck with a baton by a masked officer.

Senior politicians warned there is no place in Britain for "secret police".

Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said: "The police just can't take their numbers off because they are in difficult policing situations. In the end, if there are complaints, it will just make matters worse for them."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne added: "Sir Paul Stephenson has made it clear that no British officer should be ashamed of their uniform or their identification. It now looks as if his orders are being flouted. There is no place for secret police in Britain."

Another MPA member, Jenny Jones, said: "These officers need to be disciplined. There needs to be a clear signal that we won't stand for it."

Miss Jones, a Green Party member of the Assembly, called for an inquiry into those not following guidelines.

She said: "It shows that there is something systemically wrong within the Met that officers think they can openly disobey orders and get away with it.

"This sort of behaviour by officers has been going on for so long but the death of Ian Tomlinson has certainly changed things."

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said the officer in Parliament Square may have "forgotten" to identify himself.

The officer, part of a team securing the Tamil protests outside the House of Commons, where hundreds of demonstrators are campaigning against the Sri Lankan government's offensive and alleged human rights abuses, also refused to identify himself when asked.

He only put on the epaulettes when a Territorial Support Group sergeant intervened after a complaint was made.

The photographer who spotted the infringement said: "He wasn't wearing his epaulettes and refused to give me his number even though I asked three times. It is not good enough, especially in light of what the Commissioner said on Wednesday — you'd think they would be extra vigilant now."

A Yard spokesman said the officer did identify himself in the end. He added: "The problem is when the officers change their uniforms and forget to put on their shoulder badges. This was probably the case here."

Sir Paul has said a full-scale inquiry would be launched into riot police tactics after the death of newspaper seller Mr Tomlinson and video footage revealed a Territorial Support Group sergeant striking a female protester at the G20 protests.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "There is no place for secret police in Britain. Failure to show identification is a slippery slope towards a police state."

Former shadow home secretary David Davis warned that officers who concealed their identification would be suspected of planning to do something in breach of the standard of conduct. He said: "If an officer deliberately hides a number, then he is expecting that being identified will give him a problem."

Shami Chakrabarti, director of human rights group Liberty, said: "All Londoners should welcome the new Met commissioner's unequivocal statement that uniformed officers must display their identity numbers at all times."