Labour MP Dawn Butler accuses Metropolitan Police of racially profiling her after car stop

Luke O'Reilly9 August 2020

Labour MP Dawn Butler has accused officers of racially profiling her after she was stopped by police in a car.

The former shadow equalities secretary said she was pulled over by Metropolitan Police in Hackney, east London, on Sunday.

Ms Butler said she recorded the entire incident in a Tweet on Sunday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the Met said that the vehicle was stopped due to an officer "incorrectly" entering the registration into a police computer.

In an interview with Sky News she slammed "institutional racism" in the police.

“There is an institutional racism in the police, we know that, and it needs to be taken out", she said. "

It is cancerous and it needs to be cut out of the police force and it’s urgent.

“It is just tiring and exhausting and mentally draining.

“We’re two black people in a car driving through Hackney and they thought they’ll stop them.”

In a video of part of the stop, she tells the police: “It is really quite irritating. It’s like you cannot drive around and enjoy a Sunday afternoon whilst black, because you’re going to be stopped by police.”

One of the officers in the video tells her: “I appreciate everything you say and I do apologise for wasting your time.”

The Met said the stop occurred after the car was mistaken for another vehicle registered to an address in Yorkshire.

"Prior to stopping the vehicle, an officer incorrectly entered the registration into a police computer which identified the car as registered to an address in Yorkshire", a spokesperson said.

"Upon stopping the vehicle and speaking with the driver, it quickly became apparent that the registration had been entered incorrectly and was registered to the driver in London.

"Once the mistake was realised the officer sought to explain this to the occupants; they were then allowed on their way. "

The spokesperson added that no searches were carried out on any individuals, and that one of the occupants has since been contacted by a senior officer to discuss the incident.

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