We believe that this was an important piece of journalism, very much in the public interest. The reaction of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to the evidence presented by Panorama was to say this: “The behaviour outlined in this programme is disgraceful, totally unacceptable, and contrary to the values and standards displayed by thousands of brave Met officers and staff every day. No-one will be more appalled than them.”

Panorama’s investigation was broadcast two years after an independent review led by Baroness Louise Casey in 2023 found the Metropolitan Police to be institutionally racist, misogynistic, and homophobic and after which the Metropolitan Police promised change. 

In February 2025, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told the BBC's Today programme: "The public can have confidence in us" but as you will know from the programme, BBC Panorama team had received evidence to suggest that efforts to change the force's culture had not been as successful as the commissioner claimed and that the Met still struggled with deep-rooted misogyny and racist attitudes within its ranks. Whistleblowers specifically highlighted Charing Cross police station as a source of concern, and this became the focus of the investigation. 

The programme sought to investigate these matters of public concern covertly, by way of secret cameras in order to evidence incidents which routine monitoring could not.  The covert filming for this programme was carried out in accordance with the BBC’s strict editorial guidelines. The reporting team on the programme have written an online article titled Why BBC sent undercover reporter into a busy London police station to explain more about the background to the investigation and to explain how the material in the programme was gathered.

Panorama’s undercover filming was able to reveal how officers sought to keep evidence of bad practice, poor attitudes and wrongdoing concealed, and whilst you may not agree with the approach used to evidence the feelings and attitudes of some officers, the covert filming was able to reveal attitudes and behaviours that the Metropolitan Police has made clear should have no place in the force. It’s important to note that police standards of professional conduct make no distinction between behaviour on or off duty. As former Chief Constable Sue Fish told the programme; “It doesn't matter whether you're down the pub letting off some frustration. You're a cop. You have to behave differently to other people”. 

We trust our audience can make a distinction between the individuals shown, and the majority of Police Officers around the UK who work hard to keep the public safe and do an outstanding job. The programme pointed out the difficult job that staff and officers do. The commentary said, “Working in custody can be really tough. The team have to deal with difficult and sometimes violent people”. The programme was also careful to point out that during the undercover filming our reporter encountered many officers who performed their duties well. Towards the end the commentary also said, “Rory saw many officers behaving professionally while he was undercover”.

We believe that we made it clear to the audience that the behaviour highlighted in the programme was not universal and therefore we do not believe that audiences would infer that all officers behaved in such a way. Whilst you may continue to disagree with our methodology the investigation has highlighted significant issues which the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says warrant immediate and “unprecedented” action.