Met must accept 'institutional racism' exists, says Mina Smallman

2023-07-19

Met must accept ‘institutional racism’ exists, says Mina Smallman, whose daughters’ bodies were photographed by officers, as she launches new police accountability group

Smallman’s daughters Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, were murdered in a Wembley park in June 2020
Two officers, Deniz Jaffer, 49, and Jamie Lewis, 34, were jailed for sharing images of the crime scene in December 2021 – but were released early
Read more: Fears Daniel Morgan’s killer may never be found after Met Police apologises and pays ‘six-figure sum’ to his family over botched investigation

The mother of two women who were murdered in a London park – and whose bodies were later photographed by two serving police officers, who shared the images on Whatsapp – says she’s urged Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to ‘change his mind’ and accept that institutional racism exists in his force.

Speaking on Woman’s Hour ahead of the launch of a new police accountability pressure group, Alliance for Police Accountability (APA), on Thursday, Mina Smallman, 66, who was the Church of England’s first black female archdeacon, told the BBC Radio 4 programme that ‘many women are too frightened to call the police’ and officers can ‘inflame’ stop and search situations.

In 2020, Smallman’s daughters Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, were murdered in a Wembley park in June 2020 by 19-year-old devil worshipper, Danyal Hussein. The women had been celebrating Ms Henry’s birthday in Fryent Country Park when they were set upon in the early hours.

Two officers, Deniz Jaffer, 49, and Jamie Lewis, 34, who were assigned to protect the cordon of the murder scene were jailed in 2021 for taking photos of the sisters and sharing them with colleagues.

Both men were released early from prison in April this year after serving less than 17 months each.

Mina Smallman, 66, appeared on Woman’s Hour ahead of a keynote address to launch a new police pressure group Alliance for Police Accountability (APA), and told the programme that people’s ‘lived experience’ of encounters with the police was key to improving the force

She told the programme that many women still felt fearful about going to the police

The new APA coalition will see groups from across the UK working collaboratively to fight racist, misogynistic and homophobic policing.

When asked what her key message would be, Smallman told the programme: ‘Hope. Because I think there are many people in communities who no longer trust the police. I know certainly a large proportion of women are frightened to call the police.’

She said that the force’s current approach to ‘stop and search’ was that officers were often ‘rude and aggressive and trying to inflame the people they’re speaking to’.

Smallman told Woman’s Hour host Nuala McGovern that Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley must accept that institutional racism is a term that should be applied to his force.

After Baroness Casey’s report into Scotland Yard’s culture and practices following the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by PC Wayne Couzens in March 2021, Sir Mark said he felt ‘upset, embarrassed and humbled’ after reading the report – but has refused to apply the term ‘institutionally racist’ to the Met.

In 2020, Smallman’s daughters Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, were murdered in a Wembley park in June 2020 by 19-year-old devil worshipper, Danyal Hussein – two police officers, Deniz Jaffer, 49, and Jamie Lewis, 34, guarding the crime scene took photos of their bodies, and were later jailed

Smallman says she’s had conversations with Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley about using the term ‘institutional racism’ to describe the culture within the Met – and says it’s not about police officers ‘throwing colleagues under the bus’

Ms Smallman said: ‘It’s not about throwing colleagues under the bus or suggesting everybody in the police force is racist. What you are saying is “I now see and understand your lived experience”.’

‘Everyone should welcome strides forward. However, unless it impacts the community and people see the change and know the change… people coming out with an experience and how they’ve been treated by the police is what is going to change attitudes.’

She said the expertise of the new alliance should be seen as ‘part of the cure’ not as ‘a fly in the ointment’ by police officers.

Ex officers Deniz Jaffer, 49, and Jamie Lewis, 34, were jailed for two years and nine months in December 2021 for misconduct in public office but were released automatically after serving half of their sentence earlier this year.

The two former police officers jailed for taking photos of the murdered sisters were released early despite one of them offering to share the sickening images again. Pictured: ex-officer Deniz Jaffer, 49, left, and Ex-officer Jamie Lewis (pictured), 34

The two officers took six photographs of the bodies of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, which were sent on WhatsApp to a group of police officers and members of the public including a doctor and a dentist.

As they stood at an inner cordon, Lewis messaged colleagues saying: ‘Unfortunately I am sat next to the two dead birds with stab wounds.’

Jaffer then risked contaminating the crime scene as he crept beyond the cordon to take more photographs on his phone. The duo were reported by a colleague who received the shocking messages and witnessed them prowling around the scene.

When they were caught, Jaffer insisted that the images had been deleted. But Ms Smallman said in May that she feared one of the men had kept a copy.

She has requested the pair be banned from discussing or sharing the appalling photos as part of their licence conditions.

‘There are some conditions – they can’t get in touch with us – and I’ve actually requested that they put an additional clause that if they attempt to show any images of our girls then they go straight back in,’ she said at the time.

The police officers were assigned to protect the cordon of a murder scene after Nicole Smallman (right), 27, and Bibaa Henry (left), 46, were stabbed to death in a Wembley park in June 2020

‘One of them said they had deleted the picture and they hadn’t. The IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) got in touch with us because one of them had been heard offering to show the image.

‘He could have sent it to anybody. He was called in and made to delete it again. Will one day those pictures suddenly appear?

‘That’s my biggest worry. That’s the one thing Chris [her husband] and I could not do. We couldn’t see the bodies. I want to remember the girls as they were, not get images of them after.

‘That’s a cause of great concern and anxiety.’

Officials failed to inform the family when the pair were released on Friday, April 21, waiting until the following week to notify them.

‘I knew the day would come. I choose not to look at the calendar. They’re unimportant to me. They’re a lost cause.

‘When I got the call I was on my own and it’s not a nice thing,’ Mrs Smallman said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘These offenders’ crimes were grossly offensive and our thoughts remain with the family of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.

‘Lewis and Jaffer are subject to strict licence conditions and can be returned to prison at any time if the rules are broken.’

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