A British Transport Police officer who was among the first responders to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack has been dismissed for gross misconduct after sending derogatory messages about Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in a WhatsApp group.
Detective Constable Mark Luker, a member of the Major Serious and Organised Crime team, used offensive language in a group chat called “Selbie Gumshoes” on multiple occasions between December 2024 and March 2025.
In one exchange on 31 December 2024, Luker wrote: “Was this a raffle on a certain kind of site? Lots of mobile type homes? Lots of ‘Dags’.” He added: “You are the MSOC pikey liaison.” The misconduct panel found these messages deliberately linked the Irish Traveller community to theft.
On 17 March 2025, Luker responded to a video of a parade with: “Off to find some scrap metal, lead roofing and cable.” The panel described this as “deliberate and discriminatory” for associating the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community with theft. He also used the word “pikey” again on 27 March.
During the tribunal, Luker admitted the scrap metal comment was a joke linking theft to Irish Travellers but denied intending the word “pikey” to be offensive. He said humour was a coping mechanism following his experience at the 2017 London Bridge attack, where he was one of the first on scene.
The panel concluded Luker was not “inherently racist” but found he probably knew the language was especially offensive. The panel stated: “As an experienced BTP police officer used to dealing with a whole range of people, the panel found that, on the balance of probabilities, he probably would have known that this was an especially offensive use of language directed towards members of a minority community.”
