The Metropolitan Police Commissioner has condemned racist abuse directed at a decorated officer after she was honoured for her work supporting women in policing. Sir Mark Rowley spoke out after PC Fiona Shaik Umar received the Outstanding Contribution to Women in Policing Award on Wednesday.
Abuse Follows Police Federation Award
Sir Mark Rowley described the abuse as "vile" and said PC Umar had received "all sorts" of misogynistic and racist abuse since receiving the award during the Police Federation annual conference. He told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that the federation had made the award a "really positive thing", but added it was hijacked by vile racists.
"The federation put out this really positive thing about this award, and the online tirade of vileness, of racist, anti-Islam and all sorts of other abuse, and misogynistic, was horrific," he said. "At one extreme, somebody did an AI-generated image and put a suicide bomb on her," he added. "I mean, the stuff out there is just vile."
Officer's Hijab Project Recognised
PC Umar said she was "truly humbled" to receive the award, which recognised her for developing the Hijab Project. The initiative was a vital force for changing uniform options for women among Met Police officers to meet the needs of Muslim women officers serving in the force.
In a video shared by the federation, PC Umar said she was inspired to enter the Met after her daughter asked whether "women like you" could do the job. She said: "I'm truly humbled to receive this award because I'm super passionate about the work I do around representation and inclusion for women in policing. I never thought about a career in the police until my daughter at the time said to me, 'Can women like you do that job?', and I was really offended because obviously she'd never seen anyone who looked like me being a police officer."
Federation Backs Officer
Paula Dodds, Chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, hailed the officer as an "incredible police officer" who was being celebrated for "outstanding work". In a statement, she called out the "vile racist abuse" suffered by the PC, which she said had come from "cowardly keyboard warriors".
She said: "PC Fiona Shaik Umar is an incredible police officer who has been rightly recognised for her outstanding work. That's what we should be celebrating. Not discussing the vile racist abuse directed towards her by cowardly keyboard warriors. The same people who don't have an ounce of her courage or her sense of duty. We stand in solidarity with the Commissioner in his condemnation of the torrent of abuse she has sadly had to endure. We are supporting Fiona and will continue to unashamedly celebrate the work of her - and our colleagues of all backgrounds. The disgusting bigots will not win."
The chief added that female officers, especially those hailing from minority ethnic backgrounds, are more likely than others on the force to suffer online abuse.
