London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Clapham vigil policing investigator is suing Home Office for sex and race bias

Clapham vigil policing investigator is suing Home Office for sex and race bias

HM Inspector of Constabulary Matthew Parr claims that he faced discrimination for being a white man
The investigator helping coordinate the official inquiry into the Metropolitan police’s handling of the Sarah Everard vigil and concerns over women’s safety is suing the Home Office for sex discrimination over claims that he has been penalised for being a “white man”, the Observer can reveal.

Matthew Parr, one of five HM Inspectors of Constabulary who oversee UK police forces, is involved in shaping the inquiry into why officers manhandled women at the vigil where hundreds had gathered to call for safer streets and an end to “misogynistic” policing. However, Parr is also currently suing the government for sex and race discrimination after learning a black female colleague was being paid more.

Recently Parr told an employment tribunal that he believed his “race and sex had a clear influence” on the decision to pay him less, which the Home Office denies.

Parr receives a salary of £140,000 a year but claims his pay is too low compared with colleague Wendy Williams, who is paid £185,000.

Following last weekend’s vigil, the home secretary Priti Patel ordered the policing inspectorate to carry out an independent inquiry and report back within two weeks.

Parr, who is an inspector of several police forces including the Met, has been involved in meetings regarding the vigil investigation.

It has been reported that Parr is leading the inquiry, but when the Observer asked the Home Office about Parr’s sex discrimination case, it said that despite the inquiry being half complete, it had not yet “100%” decided on its lead investigator following discussions over “whether a woman should front it because it’s around women’s safety”.

The report’s conclusion could intensify pressure on the force’s commissioner, Cressida Dick, who so far has resisted calls to resign amid widespread outrage over officers’ approach towards women mourning the killing of Sarah Everard.

In the meantime, scrutiny of Britain’s most senior police officer on issues of women’s safety remains fierce with the commissioner on Saturday night accused of effectively blocking the national rollout of misogyny as a hate crime among police forces.

The academics who helped Nottinghamshire police become the first force in the country to treat the offence as a hate crime in April 2016 said the commissioner’s refusal to follow their lead in 2018 undermined the widespread adoption of the measure.

In November 2018 the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Sara Thornton, said incidents of misogyny should not be pursued because forces were too stretched, a stance supported by Dick who said her focus was on reducing violent crime.

Criminologist Loretta Trickett from Nottingham Trent University, whose work was instrumental in persuading her local force to adopt the offence, said: “If the Met had come on board with this all the other police forces would have followed because it’s so big and influential.

“What was so damaging was that it was deemed to be something trivial … the opposite of what Nottinghamshire police had been saying.

“We were trying to have this taken seriously by police and to have that undermined by the Met as the biggest force in the country was a big blow. That sent a clear message that they didn’t think it was important enough.”

Trickett believes that Britain’s biggest police force had difficulty understanding the escalation of street harassment to sexual violence.

“I don’t think the Met are joining the dots between street harassment against women and girls and how that can escalate into wider violence. They don’t see the connection between the sort of men engaged in street harassment and those who are committing rape and domestic violence offences,” added Trickett.

However Trickett and her colleagues did celebrate a breakthrough last Wednesday when ministers announced they would require police forces to collect data on crimes seemingly motivated by hostility towards women, a significant step towards making misogyny a hate crime.

A statement from the Met said: “The commissioner is determined to improve criminal justice outcomes for women and all victims of crime.”

It added: “At the current time there is no specific recognition of misogyny within the criminal law. However, such incidents may amount to harassment, threats, intimidation or assault which are criminal offences we take very seriously.

“We would urge anyone who believes they may have been a victim to report to us.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×