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Bianca Williams: Fundraiser exposes 'toxic culture of Met'


British athlete Bianca Williams has said the "toxic culture of the Met" has been exposed by a fundraiser for two constables fired for gross misconduct.

More than £65,000 has been donated to Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks who carried out a stop and search of Ms Williams and her partner Ricardo dos Santos in west London.

A disciplinary panel found the officers lied about smelling cannabis in the athletes' car.

The money is to "support the officers".

Ms Williams and Mr dos Santos, a Portuguese Olympic sprinter, said they were racially profiled when they were searched outside their home.

The disciplinary hearing found the actions of PC Clapham and PC Franks amounted to gross misconduct.

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"A very significant number of the comments [on the crowdfunding website] appear to be from serving officers, police units and police associations.

"The messages are predominantly denouncing the perceived injustice to the officers being dismissed for dishonesty, and are disparaging about the misconduct panel who made the finding," a statement released by Ms Williams and Mr dos Santos said.

"The comments of the apparently serving officers not only demonstrates an unwillingness to be held to account but it exposes just how toxic the culture in the Met is, and how far off change seems to be."

The statement added: "The commissioner should immediately come out to publicly support the panel's decision and the importance of accountability in the Met if public confidence in the police stands a chance of being restored in London."